


Rita Skeeter's Scoop

by RavenHairedPrincess



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Desk Sex, Digitally altered photo, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fanart, Grief/Mourning, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Hogwarts Seventh Year, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mystery, Nudity, Oral Sex, Porn With Plot, Revenge, Romance, Sexual Content, Sexually Explicit Fanart, Shameless Smut, Smut, Suspense, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, digitally altered pornographic photo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-04-30 20:48:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 24
Words: 52,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14505195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenHairedPrincess/pseuds/RavenHairedPrincess
Summary: Archive Warnings are not for events between the main charactersA scandal shakes up the students and staff at Hogwarts.Severus looked over at the paper Minerva was holding up. As his eyes fell on the headline, an expression of horror played across his face. “Ahh!” he howled as steaming hot coffee spilled down the front of his robes. He set the cup down and yanked the paper from the Headmistress’s hand."Infamous Potions Master, Professor Severus Snape, Caught Having Lewd Affair With The Brains Of The Golden Trio:"-Chapter 2





	1. Hogwarts: After Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Anything recognizable belongs to J.K. Rowling. No money was made from this story. It was written for fun!
> 
> I intend to update this story only once a week because I have two others I'm already working on.

Hermione sat on the train with Ginny on her way back to Hogwarts to finish her education. Both Harry and Ron accepted the Ministry’s employment solicitation. She wanted to be happy for them, but she was still annoyed that they had opted out of graduating properly, not to mention how much they had all grown to hate the Ministry. She pulled out her copy of that morning’s Daily Prophet while Ginny went off to find a few of her friends. The second page contained an article that caught her eye. 

“A Journalist’s Journey to Becoming an Animagus” By Rita Skeeter:  
After nearly a year of hard work and determination, I am proud to announce that I have earned my spot on the animagus registry.

Hermione immediately gawked at the article. What a filthy liar, she thought. Someone must have forced her to out herself. Hermione shook her head and went on to page three.

“Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Hires First Fit Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher in Over a Decade” By Rita Skeeter:  
Current Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, will be welcoming Darvin Brown to the staff tomorrow. Mr. Brown has a firm understanding of the art of self defense and plans to utilize a hands-on approach to educating our community’s youth. When asked how he felt about the previous instructors appointed to the position, he explained, “I’m appalled at how this class has been handled in the past. Had the students been more prepared, more would have survived the attack on the school this past May. Many perished who didn’t have to and not just because the Headmaster failed to secure the school properly. I find it a great relief that Minerva has stepped up to take over as Headmaster of the school. I’m sure many parent had doubts about allowing their children to return to Hogwarts until they learned they would be safe under the protection of a fierce Gryffindor once again.

“Wow,” Hermione said aloud to no one. She couldn’t believe this Darvin would come across as so hostile before he’d even taught his first class. Then again, who knows what he really told Skeeter. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus Snape begrudgingly returned to Hogwarts to resume the post of potions master after the war ended upon Minerva Mcgonagall’s request. Truth be told, he really didn’t know what else to do with his life. He had expected not to survive the downfall of the Dark Lord. He should have died. He should have been left to be at peace, but no! That insufferable bloody Granger girl had slowed his exsanguinations in spite of believing him to be a ruthless murdering Death Eater. Only Hermione bleeding-heart Granger, founder of SPEW, would have had the gall to help him, and she was there when he was supposed to have died! Infuriating girl! 

It took a few weeks to get settled back in to the relaxed position of only being a professor. He knew he had it easy this time around. There was no Longbottom constantly on the verge of blowing up his classroom, and there wasn’t a Potter in sight. Hermione Granger was the only one of the troublesome three to return to Hogwarts to finish her seventh year apparently. Aside from occasionally seeing Granger with the Weasley girl, she mostly kept to herself. Even during class, she showed little enthusiasm. Her work was as diligent as ever, but something had changed about her. Perhaps it was because she’d lost her other cohorts. Although, it could be that war had changed her, as it had changed them all. 

Severus had rounds the first Thursday evening of term, and he was exhausted by the time he was done. Unsure if he still had it in him to continue teaching, he questioned his decision to remain at the school. He knew Minerva had gotten several letters requesting his resignation before term even started. That new twat monkey, Darvin, seemed to really have it out for him. He had apparently been a Gryffindor who graduated just a few years before Severus started at Hogwarts. Minerva was on his side, and that was really all that mattered to him. Thinking about how hard the last school year had been with her loathing him was starting to give him a migraine. Hoping to ease his aching muscles, he headed toward the staff bathroom on the second floor. It had an ancient hot tub in it that he had never taken advantage of before, even though he had been tempted many times. Normally, no one used it for lack of privacy, but it was after midnight. 

Severus entered the bathroom rubbing his neck and walked up to the tub. He turned and cast a locking charm on the door to ensure no unwanted visitors interrupted him. The room was quite a luxury actually. It looked more like a locker-room with a spacious steam room off to the side ready for anyone in need of it. He bent down to take off his boots when he noticed a small amount of water on the floor. That’s curious, he thought. His eyes followed the almost elusive trail of water into the steam room. 

Hominum Revielo, he silently cast. He was not alone. He slowly stood, wand clenched tight in hand. His eyes swept the room but found no one. What he did find, however, was a small pile of clothing up against the wall on the other side of the hot tub. His eyes lingered on them but only momentarily. Hogwarts robes, Gryffindor Head girl badge, must be Granger, he snarled to himself. She was still there in the bathroom. He set his wand on the bench next to him, not fearing the girl. Sitting back down, he returned to removing his shoes to allow himself time to consider the situation without acting. He didn’t want her to know she had been caught yet.

Take points from Gryffindor? belittle her? No. It’s hardly even fun anymore, he admitted to himself. A smirk came across his face as he decided the best way to teach the damn chit a lesson. Gryffindors always think they are above the rules. He almost laughed aloud as he decided how best to punish the girl

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione stood behind the small wall at the entrance of the steam room in a towel with only her wand. She was nearly paralyzed with fear as her alarm charm had sounded while she was relaxing in the hot tub. She barely had time to grab a towel before she hid from the incoming teacher. After several minutes of silence, she relaxed just enough to take a few deep breaths at not having been caught yet. She dared peek to see who was in the room with her. Crouching down, she hoping the steam was enough to conceal her form. She covered her mouth in surprise as she looked over to the bench. Of all the Hogwarts Professor, the worst possible one to be in this conundrum with was sitting on the bench taking off his shoes. Professor Snape. Fuck! This couldn’t possibly be worse, she thought. She knew there was no way out unnoticed and would have to wait him out to leave. She hadn’t actually spoken to him since that night in the Shieking Shack, and this was the worst possible time to have a conversation with him. She was wearing only a towel, out of bed after curfew, and in the staff bathroom. Hermione threw a silent temper tantrum at her own foolishness.

She was looking at him plucking away at his laces with his long agile fingers. Those hands had found hers when she was applying pressure to his bleeding neck in the shrieking shack. She knew he was in pain as he kept trying to pull her hands away from his throat. They were softer than she had expected. Horrible as his actions had been, or so she believed them to be at the time, she had always respected him. Perhaps that is why she felt compelled to help him. It didn’t matter though. She was a good person, and no one, including him, was going to make doubt that.

His feet were long, thin, and pale just like his hands. His hair hung in front of his face while he was bent over just as it did when he was grading papers at his desk. Professor Snape’s hands came up to the collar of his robes to free the top button. She had unbuttoned the top three buttons the night he had almost died. He had a light dusting of chest hair, which she smeared blood on as she clumsily grabbed at his throat. Her hands were too shaky from fear to move with the swiftness he always had. He was done with the buttons on his shirt and was undoing the cuffs now. She watched him roll his stiff neck as he slowly removed his shirt. Severus Snape was pale, scarred, and had almost no fat on him, leaving every muscle clearly defined on his slender frame. Silky black hair circled his belly button and trailed down disappearing into the waist of his pants. The dark mark on his arm stood out against his milky complexion like a blazing plane crash on a snowy mountainside. 

Biting her lip, Hermione realized she had been staring. She quickly ducked back behind the wall. What is wrong with me, she scolded herself, you cannot watch him undress. Bloody hell. It’s just wrong. My heart is pounding. It’s just fear. It’s just fear of being caught. Curiosity got the better of her as she crouched down to peer around the corner at him again. Gods it hot. Damn steam. It’s just the steam. She soothed herself as she watched him remove his pants revealing long lean legs. She felt her stomach flutter as his hands tugged at the waistband of his boxers. She had to bite down on her hand to keep the squeak she felt coming from within her. She just couldn’t bring herself to look away. His manhood was larger than she expected. She only had to go on the one teen boy she had seen naked, and Snape wasn’t even erect. She had lost her virginity to Ron after the war, but it was not what she had expected. They were too close. It gave her that ‘kissing her brother’ feeling and ultimately led her to break up with him soon after they had gotten together. She cringed at realizing how silly she was being staring at him in awe. Severus Snape was obviously not a teenage boy. 

She was becoming very thirsty, and sweat was beading around her forehead. Her heart was pounding; her knees were shaky. One more symptom and she would no longer be able to deny her arousal. She watched him slip into the water and heard a groan that sounded just as much like a growl. The noise made her insides squirm. She ducked back behind the wall and covered her ears. No! No! No, she told the ache that appeared in her lower belly. I must stop thinking it can’t get worse because clearly the Gods think it’s funny to prove me wrong, she whined to herself.


	2. A Hogwarts Affair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your kind words about my stepfather's passing. I had this chapter done already, so I'm going to post it early for you.

He decided he did still want to deduct points from Gryffindor because he just hated to pass up the opportunity. It wasn’t even necessary really because, if that didn’t terrify the little lioness into never coming back here, he don’t know what will. The most private parts of his life had been plastered all over the Prophet, proving to be the most humiliating thing in his life. Had it not been for that, disrobing in front of someone so shamelessly would not have been an option. The worst things that could have possibly happened to him had already happened. If it weren’t enough to suffer through the life that he lived, he now had to face the world knowing the things he kept so safely tucked away his whole life were discussed at stranger’s dinner tables. He was left broken, raw, and as defeated as ever. 

Perhaps if it had been different, he could have started over after the war. Perhaps he wouldn’t have to keep people afraid of him to prevent meaningless words of gratitude, their pity, or their pointless attempts at apologies. If he had died it wouldn’t have matter what the world knew of him. As he reflected on his life, he thought of Lily. He still loved her, but even that was tainted. Loving memories of her were fused with self-hatred, regret, and anger. So much was tangled with the only good thing in his life that he didn’t even want to think about her. He wanted to be free. I would be if it weren’t for her, he thought. Why Granger? Why couldn’t you just leave me, he wondered. Oh god. Did I say that out loud? Fuck. Maybe I didn’t. He let out a sigh and pulled himself out of the hot tub. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione felt panicked when she heard her name. How does he know it’s me? Why couldn’t I just leave you? Should I answer him? She heard him get out of the tub and dress in a hurry before leaving. He must have been talking to himself. Why couldn’t I just leave him? Her heart sank as she realized what he was talking about. She tucked her quivering lip between her teeth and shut her eyes tightly trying not to cry. Once she was sure he was gone, she grabbed her clothes, dressed, and went to her room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Severus sat down to breakfast the next morning. It was rather loud in the Great Hall considering it was only just 7am. Some students seemed to be whistling and others were snickering and laughing. Fools, he thought. He picked up a cup of coffee and brought it to his lips. Someone is watching, I can feel it, he thought. His eyes immediately met the Granger girl’s as he lifted his gaze from his coffee. She was holding up the Prophet but looking over at him as if she had seen a ghost. He arched an angry eyebrow at her, as if she should interpret it as ‘what the fuck are you looking at?’ She quickly looked away blushing fiercely and stood up awkwardly to leave. 

“Oh Severus, I’m worried about Miss Granger. She hasn’t been herself since the war. She looks like she hardly eats or sleeps,” McGonagall said to him.

“How exactly is that different from before the war?” he replied with a smirk. “She’s always looked like that.” 

Minerva glared at him. “You still haven’t spoken to her have you?” she shook her head at him. “I imagine she’s traumatized. She thought you were going to die, you know.”

“Many died that night: she has seen death. Why should me surviving be what traumatized her?” he asked

“Because with you she wasn’t helpless. The others, she had no control. The repercussions aren’t the same as when you have someone’s life in your hands. Surely you know that.”

That is painfully true. “I see no reason to reminisce about the tragedies of war. And if you think I owe her some sort of gratitude, you are mistaken.”

McGonagall gave him a stern disapproving look and picked up her copy of the Prophet that an owl had dropped by her. “Oh, dear! Severus, have you seen this?” she sounded shocked.

Severus looked over at the paper Minerva was holding up. As his eyes fell on the headline, an expression of horror played across his face. “Ahh!” he howled as steaming hot coffee spilled down the front of his robes. He set the cup down and yanked the paper from the Headmistress’s hand.

“Infamous Potions Master, Professor Severus Snape, Caught Having Lewd Affair With The Brains Of The Golden Trio:”

He shook the paper as if that would make the words run screaming from the page like first years. No. I cannot have read that right, he told himself.

“Infamous Potions Master, Professor Severus Snape, Caught Having Lewd Affair With The Brains Of The Golden Trio:”

The tall, dark, and brooding war hero, Severus Snape, was seen leaving the staff bathroom late last night only moments before Harry Potter’s famous female sidekick, Hermione Granger. Inside sources told reporter, Rita Skeeter, that both were seen leaving the bathroom with wet hair, and Miss Granger, the last to exit, had that unmistakable telltale flush of a girl who was just in the throes of passion. While Miss Granger is of age, one has to wonder if this torrid affair began before she turned seventeen. It would certainly explain her desperate attempts to save him the night of the final battle. It was only a few short years ago that she was able to reel in both the boy who lived, Harry Potter, and famous quiddich player, Victor Krum. The girl certainly has a thing for famous wizards, but what our readers want to know is, how does she do it?! “There’s nothing special about her, except maybe her ability to brew love potions,” says one inside source. 

I cannot read another word of this, he thought as he violently shook the paper before throwing it down on the table. He could feel heat rising in his cheeks. “Surely, you don’t believe a word of this!” he growled at Minerva.

“Oh, of course not. That Rita Skeeter has had it out for Miss Granger for some time. I’m not too concerned; however, I’m sure I’m going to have to deal with a few angry parents,” she told him.

His pulse was pounding with a fury as he stormed out of the great hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

This is the most horribly embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me. Perhaps I should try to pretend none of it is happening. That’s probably what he’ll do. He deserves an explanation, doesn’t he? Merlin knows he doesn’t deserve to be splatter over any more papers. Oh, where is that Gryffindor courage, Hermione? She steadied her breath and knocked on Professor Snape’s office door. Nothing. She let out a sigh as she was relieved that he wasn’t in.

The door flew open and Snape gazed down at her with the most irritated expression Hermione had ever seen. “What is it, Miss Granger,” he snapped.

Oh Gods! He looks absolutely murderous! Words. Use words Hermione….at this point any will do! “Uh-umm,” was all she could muster under his threatening glare.

“Most of the wizarding world has the decency to stare at me only while I’m not looking directly at them. What. Do. You. Want, Miss Granger?” he bit out every word.

Get a hold of yourself damn it. “I was just” ok that’s a start. Now what? She blanched before rushing to finish any kind of sentence she could formulate. “hopingtospeakwithyou,…Sir?” That wasn’t supposed to be a question. Fuck, she chastised herself.

To her surprise, he seemed to relax a bit with a gruff sigh. “Come in if you must.”

Hermione walked into his office as he held the door for her. She sat in the chair opposite his desk which was littered with essays, and on the corner sat a copy of the Prophet. Noticing it, she began to blush. Perhaps you should just make a run for it now before he sits. Too late. Great now he’s staring at me. Gods this is awful.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Why is she here? If it isn’t embarrassing enough without having to talk about it. Insufferable. “As much as I prefer your sudden inability to speak, Miss Granger, I have work to do,” he said sounding almost bored. 

“Of course professor. I,” Hermione paused for a moment as if trying to gather her thoughts, “I just wanted to offer an apology about the paper, Sir.” 

“Miss Granger, unless you are the inside source Rita Skeeter heard this rubbish from, then no apology is necessary,” he said dismissing her.

“I would never-“ she looked taken aback for a moment. “Sir, what I mean to say is that Rita Skeeter holds a grudge against me, and I am apologizing for you being caught in the cross fire.”

He picked up the paper, turning the cover to face her and asked, “What could you have possibly done to warrant this?”

Hermione looked to the ground and bit at her bottom lip. “Sir, after the tri wizard tournament I discovered that Rita Skeeter was an unregistered animagus.”

Severus furrowed his brow after a moment of silence. “I would think she would not taunt one who holds her secret…” he stated not understanding her point.

“Your assumption would be correct, but she just recently registered. I assume she is still bitter about me keeping her in an unbreakable jar under my bed for an entire summer,” Hermione was still looking at the floor. She had not told anyone but Ron or Harry about that. Surely should be in trouble for kidnapping or something. 

“Ha, ha-ha,” Severus couldn’t help but laugh. Best thing I’ve heard in a long time, he thought. She looked up to him in surprise at his laughter. When she started laughing he placed his elbows on his desk and his head in his hands. “That information makes it all the more bearable.” She laughed, and it was infectious. “Although, I must say, holding someone hostage is typically a Slytherin pastime.” Hermione gave him a bright smile as her laughter subsided. “I suppose I accept your apology.”

Hermione sat quietly rethinking the other thing she wanted to say to him. “Professor,” she said as a sad look came across her face. “I feel I owe you another apology.”

Gods, not this again. Why? What does she expect me to say to her? He stiffened in his chair. “Miss Granger, if I have to hear one more apology about someone doubting-“ Hermione cut him off.

“Sir, I do not mean to apologize for that,” she stated firmly. “I will not apologize for believing what you intended us all to believe out of necessity.” She folded her arms across her chest. 

He was quite taken aback by this. She understood. They had all done what they had to do. His train of thoughts was interrupted by her again.

“For what it’s worth, Sir, I am sorry if you would have preferred,” she hesitated looking for the right word, “ me not interfering.”

His heart sank. He had said that thought out loud in the bathroom. Ironic, here she is apologizing to me for the very same thing people keep telling me I should be thanking her for, he thought. The girl sat in front of him looking at his desk waiting for a response, he was sure. But for all the things he was feeling, none came. Once the silence reached an almost unbearable duration, Hermione stood from her seat.

“I suppose I had better go,” she said and turned to leave. 

He removed the newspaper from his desk and let in fall into the waste bin. As the girl reached for the door handle, Severus said smoothly, “before I forget, again, Miss Granger, ten points from Gryffindor for being out past curfew.”

She hesitated at the door before leaving. Oh God! He knew I was in there. Wait. He knew I was in there, she shrieked to herself.


	3. Hermione's Howler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter for a new week. :) I promise not to take forever bringing this one to a boiling point, as the story doesn't need it.

The rest of Friday and Saturday morning went by uneventfully; however, Hermione could not get Professor Snape off of her mind. Between seeing him naked and hearing him laugh, an expression she though he was incapable of, she could no longer see him the same way. She had always respected him, but he was now somehow more human. After Harry confided in her the memories Professor Snape shared with him, she realized that his unfriendly demeanor was likely a facade to keep people away. It was about self preservation, but what was he preserving? Who was he, really? Lily had, after all, once seen enough good in him to befriend him. Although she would never admit it to Harry, or anyone for that matter, she held Professor Snape in higher regard than James and Sirius when thinking about their generation. Young Snape was obviously studious, and he devoted his life to avenge someone he loved. 

Ron had deserted her and Harry in the forest, and she had hoped he cared enough about her to stick through the tough times with her. He disappointed her. He deserted her in an attempt to better his own circumstances. Although she tried, she just could not trust him the way she used to. Getting together at the height of the battle was a dream come true, but it was just that. It was a dream: it was an illusion, an idea of a relationship that fell flat on its face. It was not made of what it would take devote one’s life to. She was no Lily Evans-Potter, and he was no Severus Snape.

Late Saturday afternoon Hermione went for a walk around the grounds alone to reflect on the past few months. She didn’t have many friends at Hogwarts anymore unfortunately. There was Ginny, but they really didn’t have much in common. Luna was kind, but was often also in her own little world. It was fine though. She had no distractions from her studies for once in her life, but something was missing. Coming across a small alcove with calm water, she removed her sandals and walked along with her feet in the water. It was warmer than she had expected, and it was comforting. She transfigured her clothes into a plum colored bathing suit with black trim, which she had seen in a catalog over the summer. She hadn’t thought there was anything special about it, but it was what came to mind while imagining her clothes transforming. She slowly waded into the water and held in her breath as the water level rose above her navel. When she was fully submersed, she swam over toward the rocky cliff side off toward the right. 

Hermione felt her heart jump as she hear a noise. It was definitely the sound of movement on the water. Turning around, she saw a big hawk flying away, and she sighed in relief as its flapping wings echoed across the water. The feeling was short-lived, however, as something wrapped itself around her ankle and tugged her roughly under the water. As soon as she began to panic, she felt the creature retreat, allowing her to swim hurriedly upwards. 

Hermione broke the surface and gulped in air as another figure emerged from the water. Shock quickly dissolved into anger. “Professor! You gave me quite a fright! That was just….uncalled for!” she snapped at her potions professor’s bobbing head. She watched as he casually flung the hair out of his face enough to give her a proper scowl. 

The surreal nature of the moment was lost on her, as he quickly responded. “Do you have any idea of the dangers that lurk in the depths of the Black Lake, Miss Granger?” he asked condescendingly.

“I’m not worried about the Loch Ness Monster, professor,” she retorted and turned to swim back to the shore where her shoes were, but he grabbed her by the wrist. He was tugging on one of her limbs again. He was touching her again! 

“Nessie is an herbivore. It’s the grindelows you have to look out for,” he chided, staring her down until the offended look on her face dissipated. “What in Merlin’s beard are you doing out here at this hour? The sun has almost set,” he asked letting go of her wrist finally. 

“I was just clearing my head,” she responded, suddenly realizing he must have been shirtless, as the tops of his shoulders and neck were bouncing in and out of the water. The image of him in the bathroom undressing came into her mind, and she quickly looked away from him. Hermione hadn’t noticed she was drifting closer to him until she felt her treading legs brush his. It was intimate: it was a moment usually shared between friends. She was missing hers at the moment and wondered if he had any of his own. She doubted it, as she only ever saw him responding to his colleagues but never initiating a conversation. 

“Of all the butterflies I presume,” he said sarcastically. 

“I-” she started but then smiled and splashed at him playfully. She may have butterflies, but they definitely weren't in her head. The raised eyebrow was the only indication she received of his surprise, but then he did the most curious thing. The corner of his lip curled up ever so slightly, and she could practically see the mischeif sparkle in his eyes. Worry filled her stomach just before a wave came crashing down on her head, propelling her forward unexpectedly. She found herself clinging to his lean but firm form as she coughed up the water she had inhaled.

“Unhand me witch!” he demanded as he struggled to remove her tightly wrapped arms from around his head and neck. 

“Well, what did you expect? Don’t always think everything through. Do you, Professor?” she snapped at him irritably while struggling to hold herself up and clear her windpipe of lake water. 

“Nor do you, Miss Granger,” he said into her small but heaving breasts, his voice a slithering caress against her skin.

Realizing she was nearly smothering him, she loosened her grip and slid down his body into the water. Her nipples grazed his chest teasingly, and she felt heat radiate upward toward her face, which was now only inches from his. Her eyes rested on his mouth. Apparently, her nipples were still thinking about naked Snape. 

Several awkward moments passed, and Hermione though she saw a flicker of heat in his gaze. She knew she imagined it when Professor Snape said, “I suggest you return to the castle, Miss Granger.”

Hermione nodded and turned to swim toward the bank. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her professor swimming off in the opposite direction and out of sight. 

Hermione replayed her encounter with him over in her mind when she was walking to the great hall for dinner. He hadn’t taken house points from Gryffindor, and he had almost seemed…playful. A playful Snape. The thought was an anomaly. I suppose it’s possible that he doesn’t hate me, she thought. He didn’t back away when their legs touched under the water, and she didn’t know what to make of it. Thinking about having her arms wrapped around him with so little clothes between them made her stomach flip unexpectedly. Gods, she thought, I think I’m starting to have a crush on him. Definitely never saw that coming. She supposed there are worse people to crush on. Lockhart, for example. Pathetic excuse for a wizard, he was. But at least she wasn’t alone in her fascination with him. She was twelve, and there were no sexual feelings involved. Not like this, anyway. She began to wonder what it is like to kiss him. Would he be a gentle lover or perhaps aggressive? His cock is so much bigger than Ron’s. Would it hurt, or is that at least partly why Ron was so disappointing?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Snape sat beside Minerva at dinner. He diligently avoided looking at the Gryffindor table. No need to make this any worse, he thought. I just have to wait for the next piece of gossip to make them all forget about this fiasco. Half way through the meal he heard shouting coming from the Gryffindor table. He looked up to see Miss Granger frozen in shock while staring at a screaming howler in the horrid voice of Ronald Weasley.

“Hermione, how could you? You broke up with me for that slimy, greasy git? I can’t believe you let Snape bend you over his desk. You disgust me Hermione! Well, I’m done with you. You two can have each other for all I care. I feel sorry for your future kids, though. They’ll be sure to have bushy, greasy hair, buck teeth, a hooked nose, and incredibly self riotous parents!”

Hermione wiped her mouth on a napkin and placed it gently on her plate before standing up from her place at the table. She excused herself and left the Great Hall as if all eyes weren't on her. Ginny Weasley quickly got up and ran after her. 

“I’d like to speak with you in my office, Severus. Now please,” said Minerva as she stood from the staff table. 

Severus cleared his throat, “Of course.” He stood and followed Minerva out of the hall and up to her office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Hermione, wait!” shouted Ginny as she tried to catch up to her. “I can’t believe my brother believes the paper. I’m sorry he’s such an idiot.” 

“Ginny, the entire school thinks I’m sleeping with a teacher! And there’s nothing I can do about it! I’d just like to be alone,” Hermione said as she waved off Ginny’s concern leaving her standing alone in the hallway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Have a seat, Severus,” instructed Minerva.

Severus sat quietly waiting for Minerva to decide the direction of this conversation. It shouldn’t even be a conversation, in his opinion. 

“At this point, you must know, I have to ask. Is there anything going on between you and Miss Granger?” she said with a serious face.

“No,” he replied flatly.

“Very well then,” she said after a moment of consideration. “What are we going to do about this?”

“We?” he questioned. “I’m not going to do anything. It’s absurd, and anyone who would believe such a thing is nothing more than a fool.”

Minerva sighed, “I’ll have a talk with Molly. That ought to at least straighten Mr. Weasley out." 

Severus nodded.  



	4. Minerva's Horrible Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished Monday's chapter a few days early.  
> The password is Latin for fierce determination.

Hermione lay in bed crying. How was she supposed to face her schoolmates? How was she supposed to face Professor Snape? The worst part of all of this was that she had actually become attracted to him somehow. Why him, she groaned to herself. She threw a pillow over her head thinking about how pathetic she was. After seeing his package, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about him…or his package! She had even had a dream that she was sitting in class, and he came by her work table to tell her it was her turn. Their final exam was to demonstrate their oral sex skills, and she’d been practicing in private lessons with him for weeks. Uh! Who would dream such a thing? She had no doubt she would have worked hard to get an ‘O’ in that too, but that only made it seem worse. 

“McGonagall wants to see you in her office,” Ginny said through the door after knocking several times with no answer. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Miss Granger, have a seat. Would you care for tea, dear?” asked Minerva.

Hermione shook her head and sat in one of the oversized chairs facing the Headmistress’s desk. 

“I can’t imagine this term has been easy for you. How have you been managing so far?” asked the headmistress. Her expression was kind but serious. 

The woman had always been a mentor to her, but she really didn’t want to speak with her right now. “Just fine, actually,” Hermione replied quickly hoping to move this along as fast as possible. 

“In light of recent events,” Minerva paused as if she were trying to find the right words. “Well, in regards to Professor Snape, is there anything I should know about?” 

Hermione shook her head, “The only thing to know is that we were both the victim of the same hateful gossip. As if he...or I… We have nothing in common.” Hermione started matter-of-factly. 

“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘nothing’ dear, but of course, I had assumed it was just a horrible lie. You know I have to ask as the Head of this school,” the headmistress said apologetically.

“What is it that you think we have in common, exactly?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Oh! I don’t know. You are both intellectuals…war heroes… gifted… but it doesn’t matter,” she said waving her hand. “I believe you dear. I had to set the record straight with both of you. That’s all. You may go back to your dormitory if you wish. But Miss Granger, my door is always open should you need someone to talk to.”

Hermione nodded. She couldn’t imagine how the conversation with Snape went. “Headmistress, I was wondering if I could go to Hogsmeade on my own. I just need to get out of here for a few hours on the weekends, just to buy some new books and get some fresh air. I just thought that, since I’m an adult, and I technically don’t have to be here, that maybe it would be alright.”

The headmistress considered her for a moment, “Of course, Miss Granger. The password for the grounds is comminus acriter. Please do be careful, though. I’d prefer you not mention it to the others. Merlin knows the majority of them cannot be trusted on their own.”

Hermione nodded with a smile, “Thank you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione was doing her best to ignore the looks and whispers of her peers as she attended classes over the next few days. If Professor Snape had been avoiding her, she wouldn’t have known as she was avoiding him. Ginny and Hermione were waiting outside of the potions classroom, and it was obvious the Slytherin students were laughing at her. 

“Hey Granger,” said Avery, “Do you sleep with all your teachers, or is it only the ones who won’t otherwise give you outstandings?” The boy standing next to him snickered. 

“Ginny, no!” exclaimed Hermione, holding Ginny back from pouncing on the little weasel. She had a temper to back up the term ‘fiery redhead’ and could get herself in some serious detention time.

The potions door swung open, “Is there a problem, Miss Weasley?” said Professor Snape, daring her to tempt him into deducting points from Gryffindor.

“No, Sir,” Ginny replied with balled fists. 

They all filed in and got to work right away. Class was quiet, as usual, until everyone got up to return their unused ingredients to the storage room toward the end of class. Hermione found herself at the back of the line after trying to squeeze one last step in before the end of the class. 

Once she was only waiting for Avery to get out of her way, he turned to her after he set his supplies on the storage room shelf and said, “What would Professor Snape even see in you, anyway? He really does have a thing for mudbloods. Doesn’t he?”

Hermione snapped. She punched him square in the nose.

“Miss Granger!” hissed Professor Snape, who was now apparently standing just behind her. “See me after class. Avery, go see Madam Pomfrey,” he demanded, looking quite angry. “I don’t think your face looked like that before class.”

Hermione was frightened; Professor Snape looked furious. This was just what she needed. More trouble, trouble with him. She heard the class snickering and someone made a comment she couldn’t quite hear, but the others seemed to think it was funny. 

“Unless you all want to join Miss Granger in detention with Mr. Filch, I suggest you keep your mouths shut for the remainder of class,” he warned returning to his desk.

Hermione went back to her seat feeling both like crying and like killing someone. After Professor Snape assigned homework, and the class filed out, she picked up her bag and walked up to Professor Snape, who was still sitting at his desk. She looked at the ground as Professor Snape stood and walked around his desk to stand in front of her. 

He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “Young Mr. Avery is just like his father, Miss Granger. I nearly decapitate him in my fifth year. A month’s worth of detention for that one,” he said half to himself as he recalled the memory. “If I weren’t your Professor, I’d say as long as it was worth it. However, it is not appropriate behavior in my classroom,” he said to her with less warning in his tone than he had barked at the class with.

Unable to help it, Hermione asked, “Was it worth it? The month of detention, Sir?” She couldn’t help wanting to know more. More about him.

“I thought so until his son showed up in my classroom. Then I wished I had aimed a little lower, but that is of no consequence to you,” he said blankly, unfolding his arms and waving a hand in dismissal.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” she apologized for causing trouble in his class. Who was this man? Surely he was not the same Professor who had been her childhood tormentor, who had been nearly everyone’s childhood tormentor. Had the war changed him, or was this what he would have been like the whole time had he not been a double agent? Was this the side of him that Harry’s mother befriended? Did she ever have feelings for him? 

“Yes, well. You may go,” he said sound bored of the conversation. 

“Sir, you haven’t told me what time my detention is to be served,” she reminded him.

“Filch doesn’t even have detention duty on Thursdays, Miss Granger,” he said. She gave him a confused look. Sounding annoyed he continued, “Was I to have them think you’d be serving detention with me? Merlin only knows what the paper would have to say about that.” He gave her a pointed and disapproving look. 

Hermione felt a blush creeping up her chest. For some reason, she didn’t know what to say to that. The idea of a scandalous detention with him had her mind drawing a blank. No. Not a blank. A vivid image of her on her knees behind his desk with his beautiful cock in her mouth invaded her mind, much like the dream she had. His words jerked her away from the scene playing out in here mind. 

“Don’t you have another class to be going to?” he asks slowly with his brows pinched together after clearing his throat. He was looking at her intently, waiting for an answer.

“Yes! Yes, I do. Thank you, Sir,” she babbled. Hermione quickly walked back to her desk, picked up her bad, and headed for the door while he moved to sit back down at his desk. Hermione heard his quill scratching away at some poor student’s essay by the time she reached the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

No one was ever really that worried about being late to Professor Binns’ class, as he never noticed anything. Hermione took her time making her way to history of magic and was lost in her own mind. Why had he looked at her so oddly? It’s not like he’d never seen her be awkward before. She was awkward all the time, unfortunately. Hermione stopped dead in her tracks on the stairs leading to the second floor. Oh, no! No. He didn’t see what I was thinking about. Oh, please let that not be what it was, she begged the gods for their mercy. She had no freaking clue what she was going to do now. Even if he hadn’t seen, she was never going to know. Hermione wanted to cry as she slumped down in her seat while Professor Binns read from the book at the front of the class. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Severus sat at his desk randomly writing insults on a third year’s essay as Miss Granger left his classroom. He hadn’t meant to invade the girl’s mind; it had just happened. He had quickly retreated when he caught a glimpse of what had crossed her mind. He had a hard time shaking the image, and he wasn’t successful until long after she was gone. He had already admitted to himself that the little bathroom show he put on was a mistake, but that was because of the damn article in the paper. Miss Granger didn’t seem like the promiscuous type. Severus was curious how she felt about what she had been thinking. He hadn’t stuck around long enough to find out if she was repulsed by the comment he had made about detention, and that’s what inspired her thoughts, or if there was some other reason. The blush that had tinted her cheeks was the only thing that made him question it. He would do the only thing that he could. He would pretend he didn’t see anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Severus, please tell me Miss Granger didn’t attack another student during your class,” Minerva bristled as he sat down next to her at the staff table in the great hall for breakfast the next morning. 

“I’m afraid I cannot,” he said as he picked up a glass of juice.

“Who? Why? And why didn’t you tell me? No points appear to be taken from Gryffindor,” she said perplexed. 

“Avery insulted her. He insulted me as well, which is why I chose not to be too harsh on her. Had the boy been talking to me, I’d have done more than broken his nose,” he said before taking another sip of juice.

“Ah. Avery’s do have a way with words don’t they?” she said accepting his explanation, even if she wasn’t happy about it. “I’ve given Miss Granger permission to leave the grounds on the weekends. I was hesitant at first, but she is responsible, although this little outburst has me questioning my decision. I’m rather worried about her. She is such a bright young lady; I’d hate to see her lose her senses. Goodness, she’s already attacked another student. I can’t have that behavior from a head girl. Keep an eye on her. Would you, Severus?” She asked quietly.

“Do you really think I’m the best for the job Minerva?” Snape said sardonically. She couldn’t possibly be serious. It was a horrible idea, the worst ever. He was pretty sure that everyone had gone mad, and he had somehow been left behind. It seemed, no matter which way he looked, someone or something was pushing them closer and closer to impropriety. 

“Yes, but you don’t have to tell her or anyone else. You were a spy for heaven's sake. Do what you do best. Just let me know if you see anything that worries you. And that does include attacking other students, even if you think it is warranted,” she explained. “I just don’t have the time to do it myself,” she added.

“If you insist,” he muttered picking at his eggs while he glanced down toward the Gryffindor table.


	5. A Close Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has digitally altered photos, including pornographic photos. You can read the text and skip the image at the bottom, if you would prefer. You won't miss anything vital to the story.

Hermione headed out of her room to make her rounds as Head girl on Friday at five minutes to ten. She made her way down to the fourth floor. Because of the house locations, Slytherin had floors one, two and three, to monitor, while Hufflepuff had one, two, three, and four. She had four, five, six, and seven. While Ravenclaw’s head boy and girl had floor five, six, and seven to patrol. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff happened to be the closest to the fourth floor, so they had that floor added on to their patrols. Hermione heard a noise as she rounded the corner of the hallway on the fifth floor. 

She poked her head around and saw a shoe plainly sticking out of one of the recesses where there was a statue of Merlin. Creeping up on them, she wondered which student’s they were. She was going to be able to take points from each of their houses. 

“Alright you two, get out of there,” she said firmly as she stepped up to them. Much to her annoyance, two sixth year Gryffindors emerged from the space. “You do know I have to take twenty points from our own house for this, don’t you?” she said annoyed.

“Sorry,” Aiden mutter as Savannah stepped behind him for shelter. 

“Get back to Gryffindor tower,” she said exasperatedly. “Now!” Hermione watched in frustration as the two students scurried away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Severus rounded the corner from the stairs of the astronomy tower onto the platform that stood outside of the door to the seventh floor corridor, and he ran straight into someone. Well, more like ran over someone. He looked down to see a disheveled Hermione Granger on the floor with her feet and palms flat on the ground. Her skirt, however, was up near her waist, leaving her white knickers completely exposed. Realizing what he was looking at, he cleared his throat and looked away while she composed herself. 

“I’m so sorry, Sir,” she said as she stood. “I didn’t see you…or hear you for that matter.” 

Trusting she had righted herself, he turned back to her and replied, “That much is obvious, Miss Granger.” She stood in front of him looking rather pathetic. Her skirt was still slightly bunched on one side, her hair was a mess, and she seemed quite flustered. Ironically, he found it quite attractive. He felt his nostril flare at her apparent speechlessness, and said, “What were you in such a hurry to get to the astronomy tower for anyway?”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. He looked at her disbelievingly. “I just walk fast, Sir,” she told him. 

He entered her mind easily, and felt no guilt about it whatsoever. Guilt was for people in the wrong, and he had every reason to be suspicious. He saw her come upon two students who were misbehaving in a corridor, and he thought nothing of it, until she walked away. Her mind had gone to a place he hadn’t expected. She’d envisioned herself in the dark corner of the castle with him, his hand working its way under her robes. He shook himself out of her memory and snarled, “You ought to be more careful with thoughts like that, Miss Granger, especially when your mind is an open book.”

The girl blushed crimson, and he wanted nothing more than to throw her against the wall and ravage her to teach her a lesson. Yes, to teach her a lesson, he told himself. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sir. I was just going to-” her excuse was cut off by his hand coming to her throat, his steps backing her up against the door she had just come barging through.

“After the article in the paper, do you really think it wise to have such filthy thoughts about me? I’ve seen them. There’s no use denying it,” he said darkly. He was furious. How dare she think such things? How dare she tempt him and threaten the comfortable life he had sitting in his lap? This was what she saved him for, wasn’t it? Why was she now tying to rip it away from him? He leaned into her slight form, pressing his semi-erect member into her hip. Her eyes fluttered shut and she swallowed thickly. 

“No,” she protested, “I-” she fell short of her thoughts as he leaned into her more firmly, his lips hovering near hers. Her breasts were heaving, her pupils dilated. 

He could have her. In that moment, he knew he could take her right there if he wanted to. Suddenly realizing he had Gryffindor’s head girl pinned against a door provocatively, he stepped back, letting her slump forward. “I suggest the princess go back to her tower,” he commented trying to be cruel to distance himself from her. “I won’t go so easy on you next time,” he warned darkly.

He watched the Granger girl flee, and wondered how the fuck that had happened. What had he been thinking? He should have obliviated the chit. He was only thirty-eight. His mind shouldn’t be slipping so soon. Perhaps that’s what one gets for living the life he has. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Unable to sleep the night before due to thinking about what had happened on the platform to the astromonmy tower with Professor Snape, Hermione hit the snooze several times on her alarm Saturday morning.  


Bang! Bang! Bang! “Hermione! Let me in!” Ginny yelled from outside her door. Hermione stood and groggily went to let her friend into her room.

“Oh my gods,” the girl said looking at her pajamas. “Have you only just woken up?” she asked as if the sky was falling.

“Ya,” Hermione said. “What’s the matter. Why all the banging?”

Ginny’s eyebrows shot up, and she held out a piece of parchment to her. “Several copies of this are floating all over the school as we speak.”

Hermione looked down at the paper…


	6. How Pathetic

He watched the Granger girl flee and wondered how the fuck that had happened. What had he been thinking? He should have obliviated the chit and taken points from Gryffindor for carelessly running into him. He was only thirty-eight. His mind shouldn’t be slipping so young. Perhaps there were lingering effects from Nagini’s venom now affecting his brain. Perhaps this is what he gets for living the life he has, a pain in the ass teenage Gryffindor girl, remaining a thorn in his side for all of eternity. He shuddered at the thought.

And when had he become a man so easily tempted by a silly schoolgirl? He shook his head and rubbed his face before reaching for the door handle. Severus grimaced as he realized it would be best to wait until he was sure she was long gone; although, if she was still in the area, he could carefully remove the last ten minutes from her mind. He strode through the door to find himself standing in an empty corridor. With no other choice, he fumed at himself all the way to his chambers, thanking Merlin his member never reached full staff. It would have been a far more uncomfortable trek if it had. 

Upon entering his chambers, he threw his robes on the couch and headed for the liquor cabinet. He hated to drink, but some nights just called for it. Nights like this one. Not that he’d ever had a night quite like this one in particular. No, he had never once accosted a student. Well, not sexually anyway. “Fuck,” he said to the empty room. Severus stared down into the amber liquid and groaned. He hadn’t yet thought of the possibility of someone else seeing them. He had already checked the tower, and she had most likely checked the floor below. “Stupid fuck,” he called himself before tipping the glass back, allowing the fiery liquid to slide down.

What must the chit think of him, now? The damn girl had a passing fancy for a teacher, and he nearly molested her for it, not to mention almost suffocating her. As he poured himself a second glass, he mused that she might just get over her little crush after that, which was for the best. He downed his second glass and sat back in the chair. Severus closed his eyes only to see her sprawled out on the stone floor, her knickers plainly visible. His prick responded favorable to the image, and he growled down at it for defying him. Hadn’t Granger caused him enough grief already? Why couldn’t she have run off to the Ministry with Wonder Boy and his freckle-faced side kick? She could have sat her N.E.W.T.s without attending school this year, but no. She had to come back. She had to be head girl and wander the castle late at night were their paths would eventually cross on the nights he had patrol. She had to go and become a sexual being when it was most inconvenient for him. Why do Gryffindors always have to be so selfish? 

Pressing his hand down on the placket of his trousers, he debated taking a cold shower. He hated cold showers, but the alternatives were to suffer until it went away on its own or get off trying NOT to think of Granger. It was no use. There was no way he would be able to keep from thinking about her unassuming knickers or the way her body felt against his. He stood and unbuttoned his trousers as he walked to his room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This is all because of that stupid article Skeeter wrote. What do I do, Gin?” Hermione asked the Ginny after the initial shock wore off. “How do I make this go away?” she asked wiping a tear from her cheek.

“I don’t know, Hermione. We’ll figure out who did it, and I’ll pummel them. I promise,” she reassured her. “McGonagall will probably expel them.”

“Oh Gods! You think she’s going to see this? And Snape! The teachers….they’re bound to come across one,” she whined and threw herself back on the bed, covering her face with one of her pillows. “I’m never leaving this room again!” Her shout was muffle by her pillow. 

Ginny stood up from the bed. “Well, I’ll see about bringing you some breakfast.”

Removing the pillow, Hermione propped herself up on her elbow. “You may as well bring me lunch and dinner while you’re at it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Severus reached over, pulled open the nightstand drawer and rummaged through it looking for a hangover relief potion. He had tried to let his erection dissipate naturally last night, but after an hour of lying in his bed awake, he got up and had a few more drinks. He ended up drinking until the idea of her hand around the head of his cock was no longer accompanied by guilt. Closing his fist around a phial, he sighed. He rarely needed anything the morning after drinking because he hardly ever drank more than two gasses at a time. He enjoyed the hell out of the liquor and the thought of the girl last night, but today? Today he felt like a complete tosser. He had wanked over a student. How much more pathetic could he get?

Severus was especially grateful for the hangover potion when he arrived at a rather loud and rambunctious breakfast crowd in the great hall. He always hated it when the children woke up cheerful. Several time while he ate his breakfast, he felt eyes on him. The princess hadn’t descended from her tower yet, so he knew he was being paranoid, his spying years coming back to haunt his psyche. 

An hour before lunch, Minerva called him through the floo. She looked a bit peeved, but she had always looked that way. He took his time getting to her office, as it was his day off. He really didn’t want to hear about what any of his Slytherins had been up to. He strode in nearly fifteen minutes later. 

“I think you ought to have a seat,” she said. Immediately, he feared someone had seen him last night on the platform. No one was there, though. “Pomona confiscated something this morning from one of her students. It had been passed on to him by friend who found it in their common room,” Minerva told him. She reached over to a stack of parchment and plucked the top sheet off. “Have a look,” she said, handing him the paper.

Severus took the paper and looked down at it. His eyes scanned the page, and his mouth went dry upon noting some of the sketches. Quickly reading over the captions, he angrily crumpled the paper and shouted, “Which boy supposedly found this, Minerva?” 

“Severus, the boy doesn’t know who I responsible for this,” she looked down into her lap. “Pomona said the student admitted to seeing several around the school this morning, and I’ve destroyed three other copies already. I don’t know how many of them there are.” 

“What?!” he shouted standing up. “How long have you know about this?” he demanded.

“A little over an hour. I needed some time to think before I called you in here,” she explained standing up as well. “It’s unlikely that word of it won’t get back to any parents, and when it does…I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t have parents thinking this isn’t a safe place for their children. ”

He nodded and said, “Well, I’ll tell you in advance then,” he seethed at her, “I’m terribly sorry to inconvenience you with double the amount of weekly letters requesting my resignation. You’ll have to find someone else to stalk the girl for you, as well.” Her concern for the school was obviously legitimate, but what about his life?!

Severus stormed back into his chambers, and walked over to his desk. He smoothed the paper out with both hands and stared down at it. With a growl he slammed his fist down on the desk, determined to catch the little bastard who made it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

As planned, Hermione had shut herself up in her room for the remainder of the morning. Just after lunchtime, another knock sounded at her door again. Ginny had already been by to check on her twice. “I’m okay Gin. I just want to be alone.” 

“Miss Granger?” came McGonagall’s voice through her door. “I’d like to speak with you. Open the door, please.”

Groaning, Hermione got up and went to the door. McGonagall never, ever came to Hermione’s room, so she knew that awful cartoon thing had made it around to the staff. No. Not a cartoon. Cartoons are funny. Opening the door, she looked out to see several fellow Gryffindors standing around with looks of pity on their faces, yet they were obviously hoping to overhear the conversation. “Please, come in,” she said as she stepped aside. 

Minerva came into her room and sat in the chair at Hermione’s desk. “Miss Granger, I assume you are aware of what was being passed around the school this morning.” Hermione nodded as she sat on the edge of her bed with her hands in her lap. “I was hoping you had some idea who was behind it.” 

“No. I- I don’t know. I mean, I know there are wards against anamagi entering the grounds freely, but Skeeter is the only one I can image being responsible for this. It seems unlikely that she would have owled it into the school and had someone make dozens of copies for her,” Hermione shook her head. “It’s possible, that someone thought they were being funny making…that thing in response to her article.”

“Well, I assure you, I’m going to do what I can to find out who is responsible for this,” she offered kindly.

Hermione made a pained face. “There’s no chance Professor Snape hasn’t seen this. Is there?” she asked almost not wanting to know.

“I’m afraid not,” she frowned.

“How is he?” she asked. “How does he plan on dealing with this? How do I deal with it?”

“Oh, he’s quite upset, as you can imagine. As for your other questions, I don’t know. I know it doesn’t feel like it now, but this will pass eventually,” she said standing up. “I’m so sorry, Miss Granger. Do let me know if there is anything at all I can do for you. Also, let me know if anyone gives you any trouble over this.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Refusing to speak to anyone but Ginny the rest of the day, Hermione had time to reflect on the situation. Skeeter registered her animagus status, so she would no longer be worried about her secret getting out. If Hermione told anyone she knew years ago, she would just look like someone who was making up stories for revenge. She knew it was unlikely that Skeeter was able to sneak into the school, happened to come across her or Professor Snape going into the bathroom, and decided to wait around just for kicks. That just wasn’t probable. That left Hermione with the conclusion that someone was, in fact, feeding her information. She figured that the degrading depiction of them together was a tossup between someone taking advantage of the opportunity to humiliate her, or someone who actually had a connection with Skeeter and had it out for her.

Then there was Professor Snape. He didn’t deserve for this to happen to him either; although, if he hadn’t given her that little strip tease in the bathroom, this might not have ever happened. What was with that anyway? Had he only been trying to scare her off last night, or was he becoming attracted to her as well? Had he liked the things he claimed to have seen in her mind? Oh gods! How could she not have thought of that? What if he thinks she was the one who did it in an attempt to get his attention? Would he believe her to be that pathetic? She needed to talk to him, and she wasn’t about to wait another day letting his anger at her fester into a boil ready to pop. 

Hermione looked at her watch, noted that it was nearing curfew, and shoved her feet into her sneakers. She threw her jumper on over her oversized tee-shirt and paid no mind to her faded pajama pants.


	7. To Cock Sucking Whores

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Photo warning applies in this chapter. I did not make the images, and I don't know who did. I just altered them.

Hermione looked at her watch, noted that it was nearing curfew, and shoved her feet into her sneakers. She threw her jumper on over her oversized tee-shirt and paid no mind to her faded pajama pants.

Knocking rather loudly, Hermione wondered if he was even in his office. There was a good chance he had already retired for the evening long ago. The door opened with a snap, and a surprised, then angry, Professor Snape stared down at her. “Sir, I-,” she began.

“Shut up, you idiot girl,” he hissed looking both directions down the hallway before yanking her by the arm inside the room with him. She stumbled toward the chair in front of his desk as he closed the door carefully. “What in Merlin’s name has possessed you to come by for a visit at this late hour?” He looked quite livid. 

In her haste, she hadn’t thought about being seen coming down here. She had passed a few students on the stairs who were headed back to their common rooms. “I’m sorry, Sir. I just wanted to talk to you about…well about today.”

“There is nothing to talk about!” he snapped. “We do not need to discuss this fabricated life someone has plagued us with!” 

She persisted, “But Sir, I needed to make sure you knew I had nothing to do with it. I know what you must think of me already, and I would never-”

Snape stepped forward backing her into his desk. “You obviously don’t know what I think of you, Miss Granger.” His eyes narrowed to slits. “Never did it cross my mind that you had a hand in this fiasco, but I AM starting to believe you have lost your mind. What if someone saw you standing outside my door just now? Hmm? It is now past curfew, Miss Granger. What do you suppose they would think?”

Hermione struggled for an answer. He was standing so close that she could smell him, and it was making her lightheaded. A blush crept up her cheeks and flourished as the seconds ticked by.

“Or is that what you were hoping for?” his tone changed suddenly from angry to sinister. “Did you come down here thinking that since we’re being accused of some torrid affair anyway that we may as well be fucking?”

Her eyes fell to his lips. Fucking. Yes. That’s what she wanted. A good fucking. Hermione opened her mouth to object, but then said, “Well, no. I hadn’t thought of that. Not until now, that is.” 

Professor Snape seemed to crackle with purple sparks of electricity. His magic, full of rage, full of passion, was overflowing into the space around him. “That is not going to happen, Miss Granger.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t think that. You’re the one who said it,” she defended herself. He wasn’t going to rejected her when she hadn’t even thrown herself out there. It wasn’t fair. “I have no interest in fucking you.” She was pissed now. Here she was trying to communicate to him that she felt badly about him being sucked into this grudge Skeeter had with her. She was trying to tell him she would never humiliate him in such a way, in any way, and he was being a nasty git to her.

His eye narrowed on her again, and he took a step forward into her personal space. She inhaled sharply as he grabbed her roughly. “Is that so?” he asked darkly. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

He stood so close her breasts were almost touching his chest. She had the audacity to deny her lust, and it royally pissed him off. If the situation weren’t bad enough already, she had to come down here after curfew and demand to talk about their fictitious affair. He was no fool. He reached up behind her, grabbed a handful of her wild curls, and tugged her head back as he leaned into her. Her breath was coming out in little pants, and he stared down at her parted lips. “Is that so?”

The girl in his clutches stood there frozen aside from her heaving chest, which was rubbing provocatively against his woolen robes. She looked delectable, flush and panting like that. She hadn’t dared to answer him. “That’s what I thought,” he hissed an inch from her mouth. He wanted to kiss her, but he knew he had to let her go. She needed to get the hell out of his office before he molested her and became the perving professor the paper had reported him as. She needed to not be seen leaving there either. “Get out,” he said letting go of her and stepping back. “And make sure no one sees you. I don’t give a damn if you have to obliviate them.”

She let out a lungful of air and said, “Yes, Sir.” She stepped around him and left quickly. 

Severus ran a hand through his hair and growled in frustration. Why was the chit determined to make this whole thing worse? All he knew was that this had to stop. He was quickly losing his resolve, and he knew he would end up buried between the girl’s legs if something didn’t give soon. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Severus made his way to his seat at the table for breakfast, and Minerva warned him before he had even taken a sip of his coffee. “Skeeter’s been at it again. Looks like she got wind of Mr. Weasley’s howler and was inspired to ask him for an interview,” she said setting the paper down between them.

Not wanting to deal with it yet, he ate is breakfast in blissful ignorance. He took the paper with him and headed back to his chambers to enjoy his Sunday away for his dunderheaded students. He would have Granger in class tomorrow, but that was tomorrow. Today, he wouldn’t think about it. Sitting in the lounge chair, he opened the paper. There, on the front page, he read:

An Abuse of Power, By Rita Skeeter:

"Saturday afternoon, reporter Rita Skeeter interviewed former boyfriend of Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley. Weasley claims to know the real story behind the scandalous affair that is shaking up Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at this very moment. “I know ‘Mione, and this isn’t her. Snape’s done something to her. I know he has. Imperious curse maybe. Threatened to fail her even. I wouldn’t put it past him to threaten her with violence either. He’s given me a good whack or two before and that was just for joking around in class. He’s one sick bastard. I can’t even imagine the sick things he’s made her do. I just want her to now, that we’re all here for her. She just needs to tell us what’s going on, so we can help her. Snape belongs in Azkaban. No teacher should abuse their power over a young, impressionable student,” he told Skeeter. 

You are probably asking yourself what Headmistress Minerva McGonagall is doing to stop this and keep the other girls at the school safe from this predator. She has continued to refuse to comment when asked about her plan to deal with the situation. It’s only a matter of time before the Minister of Magic himself must step in." 

Severus tossed the paper into the fire. Great! Now they were spinning the story to make him some sort of pedophile coercing little girls into his bedroom. Granger, although still a student, was a fucking adult. A knock at the door made him all the more irritated. Who the hell was disturbing him? He was surprised to see Filius and Darvin outside his portrait. 

“Severus,” Filius said, “Mind if we come in?” He stepped back and allowed his fellow professors in to his living room. They all took a seat, and Filius said, “Look. None of us here believe a word of the rubbish in the paper. We know Skeeter’s a nut job. Graduated a few years before you, actually. Gods, she was a horror of a student. Always left feuding people in her wake.”

“She twisted every word I said in that interview I gave her. Told her I understood why parents might worry about sending their kids back to school after the war, but said they’d be in good hands. I even told her the only one more qualified for my position was you, and you declined it,” Darvin said shaking his head. He pulled out a small bottle of fire whiskey and set it on the coffee table. “We thought you might need a drink after reading the article in the paper this morning.”

Feeling unable to refuse their kind gesture when everyone else seemed against him, he summoned a few short glasses, and poured two finger’s worth in each glass. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione spent her entire day fuming over Ron and his stupidity. What was he trying to do? Ruin her life and get Snape fired at the same time? It really seemed that way. She was on her way down to dinner when Ginny found her in the hallway. “Hermione, it’s happened again,” she said with a worried look on her face.

“What’s happened?” she asked suspiciously. Ginny pulled a piece of paper out of her bag and handed it to her. Hermione covered her mouth as she looked down at the latest not-so-funny comic strip that was circulating the school. “Fuck,” she said, turning around and headed back up to her room. 

Hermione sat on her bed staring down at the images mocking her. He looked good, while she just looked like a cock sucking whore. She wondered what Professor Snape was going to think of this one. It certainly didn’t depict him in the best light, even if they were generous drawings him. 


	8. Opportunity Knocks

Severus sat on his couch trying to read that evening, but couldn’t remember a damn word of the text because his mind kept returning to Hermione Granger. Deciding to give up on the book, he marked his page and set the it on the coffee table. He summoned the waste bin that sat next to his desk and pulled out the crumpled piece of parchment. Studying the page for any clues as to where it came from, he wondered if she had already done the same. He sighed and rubbed his temples when he came up short. Drawing his wand, he cast several charms to reveal anything, but the only information he found was that it was copied at four in the morning. 

4 a.m., he repeated to himself. Did that mean anything at all? Well, wait, he thought. The Prophet isn’t published until 6 a.m. to be delivered by 7 a.m., so whomever copied this must have known about the article Skeeter was going to publish this morning. It would be quite a coincidence if not. Wouldn’t it? Severus was fairly certain someone was in cahoots with Skeeter to take down Miss Granger, but why did he have to be dragged down with her? Was he just a sacrificial pawn? It seemed mostly likely. Whoever saw them leaving the bathroom that night must have jumped at the first chance to make their attack. He suddenly wondered whether Granger had formulated any theories about just what the hell was going on. Not that he could ask her.

Looking down at her on the page with his dick in her mouth was unsettlingly satisfying, though. He had to admit that he wanted to feel her pretty little mouth around his cock, even if only to himself. His pants were growing uncomfortable sitting there staring at the images some sick fuck decided to spread around the school. He couldn’t use it to get off knowing the entire male population was likely doing that very same thing at the moment. The poor girl had every right to feel violated. He couldn’t do that to her as well. He wouldn’t. Instead, he threw the paper back in the bin and used his good old imagination to envision her kneeling at his feet. It was far less degrading that way, he told himself. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione tried to pretend to be unfazed by all of the gossip on Monday. Really, she did, but by the time she’d gotten to her room, she was ready to murder someone. The day had truly sucked ass. Students whispered behind her back during every class period. Literally! She decided it was time to take matters into her own hands. She dug out a quill and a piece of parchment from her bag and wrote a quick letter to Harry asking him to meet her on Saturday in Hogsmeade. 

Tuesday was just as bad as the day before, and she wasn’t looking forward to sitting through potions class tomorrow. How could she look at him without someone taking it out of context? Everywhere she turned, there were landmines. Hermione understood why Skeeter was miffed, but if the bitch hadn’t tried to make her out as a whore when she was only fourteen years old, none of this would have every happened. It was complete and utter bullshit. 

Much to her surprise, potions class was quiet. The students were obviously far more afraid of Professor Snape’s wrath than any of the other teachers, but she would take the reprieve. The potion they were working on was something she had made before. She had actually made it several times while in the woods with Harry and Ron. It was a mild sleeping draught, which was much easier to be roused from than any of the others. The three of them used it to help them fall asleep, as their anxiety often kept them up.

Hermione was mindlessly stirring her potion when she glanced up and caught Professor Snape’s eye. Immediately, she thought of the images of them together. She couldn’t help it. The night before, she had shamefully rubbed herself nearly raw thinking about being under his desk, being on top of his desk. She flushed as she saw him tilt his head and raise a surprised eyebrow at her. They both looked away at the same time. She was quite embarrassed, and he was probably worried about others noticing them looking at each other. She kept her head down as he stood to walk around the room, checking on their progress. Her nerves wound tightly the nearer he came to her workstation. To her relief, he had skipped her entirely before returning to his desk. Hermione was sure she was still at least a little pink when class ended, but she could blame it on standing over her hot cauldron. Thank gods for that!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Perhaps he shouldn’t have felt so guilty after thinking about her last night. She was just as bad as he was, apparently. If he hadn’t retreated immediately from her mind, he would have been stuck behind his desk for the remainder of class. He was sure of it. The rest of his classes went by slowly, and as soon as his last student had left the classroom that afternoon, he made his way to the staff room. It had been a shit day, and the last thing he wanted was to sit around in his quarters, left to ruminate about the girl whom his life seemed to revolve around all of the sudden. 

Severus sat in an armchair sipping his afternoon tea while reading the most recent potions journal when Pomona Sprout came in coughing and sneezing. It seemed that she had come in contact with a nasty bug and was trying to pawn off her patrol duties on Darvin. 

“Oh, actually, I have plans to go into London to meet an old friend for dinner. Perhaps Severus could do it,” Darvin said apologetically while backing away from her, obviously not wanting to catch the plague. 

The last thing he wanted to do was rounds after the day he’d had. Although he couldn’t tell what exactly was being said, there was a near constant murmur of whispers in his classroom. He’d given out six detentions, for Merlin’s sake. The only class that hadn’t given him trouble was hers, ironically. The little shits were probably waiting to for them to start fucking during the middle of class. He had no doubt it was all thanks to that lovely little picture book that accompanied Skeeter’s latest article about them. He could use all the faculty support he could get, though, so he agreed without argument.

It was for the best, he decided as he left his quarters at eleven that night. He was not going to wank over his student tonight. No. He absolutely wouldn’t. It was disgraceful. It was shameful. It was too tempting if he sat there for too long. Severus was on his way down from the astronomy tower, when he first caught sight of her. She’d just walked past the end of the hall to check the other side of the corridor. She would most likely be coming this way next. There really wasn’t any way of avoiding her, but did he even want to? Taking a careful look around, he made certain there was no one else in the hallway before he ducked into the old, unused astronomy classroom. With the door only slightly ajar, he could see across the hall to the other classroom through the crack. With a flick of his wand, a bang sounded off the opposite door. He waited. It seemed this was to be their one opportunity, and he couldn’t pass it up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione was doubling back on the sixth floor hallway to check the east wing when she heard a thud come from one of the rooms further down. Frowning, she made her way to the door she assumed the noise came from and entered the empty classroom. Nothing was amiss, though. Figuring it must have been Peeves or perhaps Mrs. Norris, she went back to the door leading to the hallway and stopped dead in her tracks. In the classroom across the way, was Professor Snape. He was leaning on the door frame, arms folded, and his head tilted to the side just the way it had been during class. Her heart jumped into her throat, as he came across very predatory, his eyes glittering. His upper lip twitched.

“Wha-” she started to ask, but he held one long finger up to his lips before beckoning her across the hall. Tentatively, Hermione stepped out into the clearing, glancing quickly in either direction. What was he doing, she wondered. Sure no one was around to see them, she quietly walked into the room with him. He moved to shut the door behind her. She heard him mutter several spells. 

“Do you have any idea who’s making these…flyers?” he asked quietly.

Surprised by his question, her eyebrows shot up. What had she been expecting from him exactly? “No, Sir,” she shook her head. “The only one I can think of is Skeeter, but she would have to have someone else doing her dirty work for her.”

Professor Snape nodded. “I suspect there is someone inside the castle helping her ruin your name. The latest…flyer was copied this morning before the Prophet was even printed. It’s likely that she has someone here helping with her off the record work,” he informed her.

“Oh,” Hermione said. “I hadn’t even thought to check for anything on them.” The admission made her feel stupid. He stood there looking at her thoughtfully for several moments, his eyes searching her face, fluttering down to her lips several times. The lull in the conversation was just enough for her thoughts to take a provocative turn. The two of them were standing alone in an abandoned classroom while the rest of the school was getting ready for bed, if not already asleep. 

What had he been thinking anyway? This was foolish. If anything, she should have been the one to lure him into the room. “We shouldn’t be in here. I’ll leave first,” she told him, unwilling to make a fool of herself once again. Hermione shook her head and walked forward toward the door. She needed to leave before anyone had the chance to catch them. Turning the knob, she was surprised to hear his hand press down flat against the door above her. She was going to ask him what he was doing, but when she turned around to face him, he backed her into the door roughly, his body flush against hers. 

Professor Snape said, “I warned you about thinking about me in such a way, Miss Granger.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she denied his accusation. She fought back a moan as she felt his erection digging into her hip. She was absolutely sure now, that he had not been fully aroused that night in the astronomy tower.

He grabbed her under the chin and forced her to look up at him. His lips came down on her as his hand slid down her throat. Hermione melted into his heat. His lips were soft and relaxed in contrast with his body. She moaned as his hand slid down over one of her breasts and kneaded it roughly through her sweater. His other hand snaked its way down to the top of her skirt. Professor Snape worked his way under the elastic of her knickers and pushed his hand down further until his finger tips were toying with her clit. Hermione dug her nails into the wool covering his shoulders at the invasion in her panties. It had been so sudden. She hadn’t been expecting it, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to stop him. 

Wasting no time at all, Hermione reached up to the buttons around his neck. The first three came undone easily, but the next was nearly impossible, as he had buried two of his fingers deep inside her.


	9. Wild Accusations

Severus moaned as her walls constricted around his digits. Soon, he told his throbbing member. This had to be one of the dumbest things he had ever done, but he just couldn’t bring himself to give one single fuck about it at the moment. His free hand came to meet hers as she fumbled with his buttons. He didn’t need to be shirtless for this, but if the girl wanted to touch him, he was going to let her. He inhaled sharply against her lips as her warm hands finally found his chest. They snaked their way around his back and stretched lower until she was squeezing his ass, pressing his erection into her more firmly. He couldn’t wait anymore. He had to be inside her. He withdrew his hand from her and continued to kiss her through her desperate whining. Gods, what a beautiful sound it was too.

His hands quickly worked at the buttons on his fly, and his cock was free within seconds. Severus grabbed her by the ass and lifted her against the door, pinning her there with his chest, so he could use one of his arms. Reaching under her, he pulled her knickers to the side and positioned himself, but he wanted to watch her. He broke away from her lips and let her slip down the door an inch and then another. Her pretty little mouth fell open as her weight forced her down on him. Gods, she was tight. A horrifying thought suddenly struck him. “You’re not a virgin. Are you?” She shook her head immediately, and he was flooded with relief. “Good,” he breathed. She was so fucking tight. 

Loosening his grip a little more, he let her sink down all the way onto his cock. He groaned and captured her lips as he pinned her with his torso again. He couldn’t believe he was fucking one of his students. Until recently, he’d ever even been tempted to do such a thing. Hell, he practically hated the brats. As soon as he started to withdraw, she reached up under the back of his open robes and dug her nails into his back. Pushing back into her roughly, he lost her lips. The girl was breathing in sexy little pants, and it spurred him on, making him thrust into her harder the next time. Hermione…No. He absolutely could not start thinking of her as Hermione. That was way too dangerous. As he started to worry that he may be hurting her being this rough, she dug her heals into his backside, encouraging him. He didn’t need any more convincing than that. If the girl liked it rough, he was going to give it to her that way. He was an accommodating man, even if only in when it came to sex.

The pretty little noises she was making were almost too much for him. Every few thrusts he bottomed out, and it sounded like she was surprised by the sensation. If it caused her pain, she didn’t say, so he continued to ram into her wall, the head of his cock rubbing against her cervix with each movement. If she would have him again, he would take her on his desk, prying eyes be damned. His head was buried far too deeply inside her to be thinking about consequence at the moment. No. He was a wild beast sprinting to the finish line, completely unaware of the poachers waiting on the other side. 

Severus felt his balls tightening, and as much as he wanted to cum, he wanted to keep fucking her. She felt magnificent, and he wanted to stay buried inside her as long as possible. Slowing his thrusting down, he leaned forward putting even more weight on her. Unable to thrust, he ground into her pubic bone. The girl seemed to like that, as she pushed the top of his robes down over his shoulders and bit down on the top of his right shoulder to stifle her moan. The harder he rocked into her, the harder she bit him. Severus felt her walls fluttering around him and resumed fucking her hard against the door. He wanted to cum inside her while she squeezed the life out of him. Her mouth left his shoulder finally and moved to suck on his necks. He lost it then, grabbing her hips and pushing her down as he thrust up into her while coating her walls with his own release. He knew the amount of fluid was very little in all actuality, but Gods did if feel like Niagara Falls rushing out his raging member. 

~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione clung tightly to Professor Snape with her head buried in his neck as he pushed into her a few more times slowing his pace. She wasn’t even standing on her feet yet, and her legs felt like jelly. He held her there catching his breath for a few minutes when he slipped out of her naturally. Eventually, Snape let her slip down to stand on her own. She watched as he tucked himself back into his pants. Yes, it had been a few weeks since she’d seen his dick, but she was still mesmerized by it. It felt even bigger than it looked, and she was sure she would be quite sore tomorrow. Reaching down, Hermione ungracefully pulled on the crotch of her knickers to right them, feeling their mixed fluids leaking out of her. Snape worked on the buttons of his coat without saying anything at all. The silence was awkward at best.

“I’m on the six month birth control the infirmary is stocked with. I suppose you probably made it,” she said. He nodded while fixing the last of his buttons. “Who do you think should leave first?” she asked him looking at her feet suddenly feeling embarrassed.

Professor Snape answered, “You go first. I’ll wait here a while before I leave.” 

Hermione nodded, but she remained standing there too nervous to go back into the hallway not knowing if someone would be lurking around. “This was a foolish mistake. Wasn’t it?” She was surprised when he looked at her with an expression that could almost be considered sad. 

Professor Snape took the three steps toward her, lifted her chin, and kissed her gently. Hermione’s knees weren’t sure they could take anymore of him tonight, but she wasn’t going to push him away. “I’ll only concede to it being foolish,” he said against her lips. Hermione kissed him back with more heat than he’d given her, and he squeezed her ass before swatting it playfully. “Go,” he said. “And if you see anyone… do what you have to do to take care of it.” Hermione nodded and turned toward the door. Taking a deep breath, she walked casually out into the hallway.

She was alone. It was no small miracle. She made it to her rooms without seeing a single soul. She hoped Severus was as lucky. Severus? When had she started thinking of his as Severus? 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

The next morning, she woke up from a dream that Professor Snape was fucking her on the head table in the great hall during dinner. In the dream, she thought it was wildly erotic, but her waking self was mortified. A few of the other teachers were sitting at the table where she was laying, and they were egging him on, telling him to give it to her harder. At one point a faceless hand found her breast and pinched her nipple hard. 

“Tell them who you want fucking you. Tell everyone you want my cock,” Snape said to her breathlessly while he plunged into her.

McGonagall’s lips thinned at that. She said to them, “Will you watch your language? There are children present.”

Hermione woke up in a cold sweat nearly an hour before her alarm was supposed to go off. She got up and took a hot shower, only just then realizing she never cleaned up after she returned to her rooms the night before. Between the dream and images of the last night, she found herself rubbing her clit. When she came, the last kiss they shared entered her mind. What had possessed him to kiss her like that? This was just some animalistic lust needing to be released. Wasn’t it? She thought so at first, but now she wasn’t certain. 

Hermione sat down to breakfast trying to pretend not to be in discomfort. The back of her hip bones had small round bruises on them from being repeatedly slammed into the door. Her lady parts felt bruised as well, but she would suffer thought it for the rest of her life if he continued to unleash his pent up passion on her. That dream, though? Good grief. What had that been about? She tried not to look at him while she spooned brown sugar into her oatmeal. It was unavoidable. She’d glanced up at him a few times without even meaning to. The paper came, and as she was about to put a spoon full of oatmeal in her mouth, she nearly slammed it back down into the bowl when she saw the newest Skeeter article. 

“A Schoolgirl’s Revenge:” By Rita Skeeter

The Head Girl of Gryffindor, Hermione Granger, has made the news quite a few times in recent weeks with her scandalous promiscuity. While many have voiced the opinion of not being able to blame Severus Snape for engaging in an affair with a schoolgirl who has flaunted herself around him, readers were still left wondering why the girl had suddenly taken an interest in the homely professor to begin with. After a lot of digging, I finally have answers for you, my dear readers. 

It appears that Granger has been engaged in a love triangle with Harry Potter and his girlfriend, Ginevra Weasley for quite a while now. The threesome had been plotting the downfall of Severus Snape since the war ended, apparently. Why, you might ask. Well, it is a known fact that Hogwarts, under the protection of Severus Snape, was an awful place to be during the end of the war. The Carrows, who Voldemort forced Snape to bring into the school, were given free rein to bully, harass, and even torture students. While the public was quick to judge Snape for the state of the school, he had been doing all he could to keep the students safe from the evils that his master had unleashed. Regardless of Snape’s culpability, Ginevra suffered greatly while attending school during that time, and her lovers, Potter and Granger, made it their mission to see to it that Snape is removed from the school for good. One inside source claims they know Potter to be the illustrator of the erotic artwork being spread around the school. In case your student hasn’t informed you, the images they are being exposed are crude depictions of the professor abusing his student. Although, her innocence is questionable at best. 

Sadly, at this time, we still have not heard one single peep from the current Headmistress regarding how she is going to resolve this situation. As a member of this community, I fully intend to write a letter of concern to the Minister himself. 

Hermione folded the paper and set it down next to her. Refusing to storm out as she had done before, she continued eating her breakfast while imagining skinning Skeeter alive. Of all the things she could have said, Hermione couldn’t imagine anything worse. They were trying to get him fired? Really? The man who saved all of their asses time after time? Now Harry and Ginny were sucked into it. Poor Ginny, she thought. The girl had slept in late and not made it down to breakfast yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Severus sat in the chair across from McGonagall’s desk. The article in the paper that morning had just been outlandish. A very small part of him worried that if the girl had been plotting against him, he’d given her everything she needed last night. He’d given her more than that, he liked to think. It didn’t really matter though. Did it? She was an adult. The worst they could do is fire him. And how horrible that would be to have to spend his remaining days away from all the dunderheaded children that roamed the school each year!

“Severus, I’m sorry to have to tell you that I have no choice but to start an internal investigation,” Minerva said seriously. “Ministry officials are breathing down my neck, and this was the only way to get them to back off. We’re lucky they agreed to let me handle it because they seem to think they have enough reason to come in and investigate themselves.” Severus nodded while he sat with his arms folded across his chest. “I’m somewhat surprised they didn’t demand your suspension pending the investigation, but you must tread lightly. They have asked that you be placed on probation for now. Any misstep could be blown out of proportion,” she warned.

“And has the Ministry demanded an investigation into who is distributing pornographic material to a school full of underage children?” he asked calmly.

Minerva shook her head but said, “Believe me, Severus. I intend to get to the bottom of this. I hope that this investigation will shed light on that, as it is the real problem here.”

“Is that all?” he asked standing up. When Minerva nodded, Severus swept out of the room.


	10. Paranoia

Severus was making his way down the stairway leading to the Headmistress’ office when he came across Lucius Malfoy. The man had turned into a downright tosser since the war ended, since Narcissa left him more specifically. While he claimed he hadn’t cared that Severus turned on the Dark Lord, he said he was deeply hurt that he never confided in him. Severus suspected his feelings of betrayal were rooted in Narcissa’s affair and not in their friendship, however. “Lucius,” he said, stopping in the stairway. 

“Severus,” Lucius stiffly greeted him. “I’m surprised to see you’re still employed here. I was under the impression it was against policy to engage in sexual congress with the children under your tutelage.” His lip curled in a self-satisfied smirk. When Severus didn’t take the bait, he said, “That’s why I’m here, actually. You see, as a concerned parent, I have every right to demand a safe learning environment for my child.” 

“That is ridiculous, and you damn well know it,” Severus told him firmly but in a clam voice.

“Perhaps if you had ever had the privilege of a woman bearing your child, you would understand the parental instinct to protect,” Lucius trailed off, apparently expecting to have struck a nerve with his old friend. 

Severus sighed. “By all means, do as you must, then,” he said waiving a hand up toward the door. “How you can forget that I risked my life for your son, I don’t know. You may want to see a mediwitch before you start forgetting important memories.” 

“A life you cared very little for,” Lucius retorted. “You seem to be the one whose mind is slipping. I’ve known you long enough to know you likely considered letting the vow take you out, so you can go shove that hero crap up your ass.”

“This is exactly why Narcissa left you. Isn’t it? Who could blame her for not wanting to deal with your angry resentment,” he said smoothly.

Lucius looked outraged. “How dare you-”

“Mr. Malfoy, do you intend to come in? I haven’t got all day,” Minerva asked from the top of the stairs with an impatient look. The two men went their separate ways. 

~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione wasn’t able to talk to Ginny in private until lunchtime. The two of them ducked away into Myrtle’s bathroom hoping no one else would interrupt them.

“Please tell me you don’t believe it?” Ginny said while hopping up onto the sink in the bathroom.

Sad she even had to ask, Hermione frowned. “Of course I don’t. Harry can’t draw worth a shit.” She laughed. 

“I’ve been trying to keep an eye open for anything suspicious, but the only thing worth mentioning is that I overheard Marietta talking about you with another Ravenclaw. She was saying some pretty nasty things,” she told Hermione while she dug a hairbrush out of her bag.

“Like what?” Hermione asked.

“Oh, just that you’re a loose whore who hasn’t earned a grade in three years,” Ginny shrugged. “But you know those Ravenclaws can’t handle anyone in another house being smart. Plus the whole boils on her face thing, but I would have thought she’d have gotten over that by now. It was her fault, after all.”

“That’s not true!” someone shouted. Hermione turned around to see Myrtle hovering over her. “About Ravenclaws, I mean.”

“Oh. Hi, Myrtle,” Ginny said. “Didn’t mean to offend you. We were just trying to figure out who is ruining Hermione’s life.”

“This is exactly why neither of you made Ravenclaw,” she huffed. “Conceited Gryffindors, the lot of you. It’s more likely that it isn’t about you at all.”

Hermione asked, “What do you mean?” 

Myrtle’s mouth fell open in disbelief. “Severus Snape has more enemies than the two of you could shake a stick at. I’d say the three of us, but I somehow lost my grip a while back,” she said looking pensive. Shrugging her thoughts off, she said, “Think about it. Your name is being tarnished. That’s all. He could lose his job over this! Nearly half of the students in his house think he’s a traitor. No telling what their parents filled their heads with over the summer.”

“I just assumed it was me because Skeeter has always had it out for me,” Hermione admitted, now feeling even further from answers. 

“It’s not just the Slytherins either. Skeeter did get one thing right. A lot of things happened while he was headmaster. Whether he could do anything to stop them is beside the point. People like someone to blame, and he’s convenient,” Myrtle told them.

Hermione wasn’t sure what she meant. She wasn’t there, after all. Ginny nodded. “What?” she asked Ginny.

The girl was hesitant to answer. “Well, look at little Denis Creevey. He’s a 6th year now, if you can believe it. He hasn’t been the same since Colin died. He spends most of his time alone now, and I hear he’s grown a wild temper. He’s not the only one either. We lost a lot of people that day. And the school during that year…” 

Hermione asked, “What?”

“There was a rumor going around at one point that Amycus Carrow took girls to his room and then obliviated them before letting them leave. I don’t even know if it’s true. The few girls the rumors were about denied it. He could have been the one who started the rumors for all I know, just to scare the crap out of us all. It worked too. None of the girls in the school walked anywhere alone. Even the Slytherins walked in pairs.”

“God,” Hermione said. “Did Snape know about this?”

“No idea. It’s not like any of us were eager to tell him anything,” she said. “What would he have done about it anyway? It’s not like he could have fired him or followed him around all day.”

“There is one thing I heard, now that I think of it,” Myrtle said into the room. “Some of the house elves think you’ve always been nothing but trouble. Some say you’re partially responsible for the death of one of them.” Oh, gods. Dobby, Hermione thought. “But still, it doesn’t make sense that any of them could be behind it. You’re almost out of here, and they have a duty to serve the school.” 

~~~~~~~~ 

Friday’s potions class was extremely difficult. Both of them seemed to be doing everything they could to avoid looking at each other. It had been obvious enough for Ginny to comment that she thought he must be embarrassed or angry about the last article in the paper. He hadn’t shown up for a single meal time, and Hermione felt badly that he was being forced out of his routine because of this mess, not that it was her fault. 

It was finally Saturday and Hermione sat with Ginny and Harry sipping tea at Madam Paddifoot’s. The three of them joked that someone was probably sneaking pictures of them, hoping for some sort of orgy to spontaneously manifest before their eyes. Harry slipped Ginny the Marauder’s Map to give to Hermione once they were back at the school. “Thanks again Harry. It really means a lot to me,” Hermione said.

“I’d like to know who’s doing this too, Hermione,” he said. “I’ve been looking at it myself, actually.” Harry leaned across the table to whisper, “I saw you with Snape on Wednesday night while you were doing patrols.” His tone was concerned not accusatory. 

“Oh!” Hermione’s eyes went wide. Fucking Hell! Damn Harry and his obsessions. “We took the opportunity to ask if the other knew anything,” she said. Knowing they spent far too long together for that to be all she told him, she added, “We pretty much came to the same conclusion that someone inside the school has to be helping Skeeter. Apparently, the last of those horrible drawings was copied early in the morning before the article with Ron’s interview was printed.”

“How come you didn’t tell me?” Ginny asked.

Hermione grimaced. “I was worried about being overheard, as I am now,” she said, her eyes darting around the room. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How is this even going to help, Hermione?” Ginny asked handing her the map. “I mean, someone would literally have to be stalking you twenty four seven for you to figure it out this way. Even if you knew who had the first bunch of drawings, you would have had to have been making note of where people were beforehand. That’s impossible to do with the entire school, especially not knowing when it might happen next.”

“I know that, Gin,” she said irritably. “What other option do I have though? Really, I’m open to suggestions.” 

“Well….we could ask around to find out if anyone draws in their free time. Hey, maybe one of the house elves has come across something,” Ginny suggested.

“You heard Myrtle. None of them are going to want to help me. Maybe you could ask them,” Hermione responded. 

“Hermione…,” Ginny said.

She said, “Yes?”

“Don’t get mad,” Ginny told her while holding her hand up between them. “But I’ve never seen Snape act the way he did during class yesterday. It just made me wonder if he was feeling guilty.”

“Are you saying you think he’s behind all of this? I thought we outgrew blaming him for everything.” Hermione said. The thought had never even occurred to her! Was it all a ploy to get her into bed? Surely not! Right?

Ginny shook her head. “I’m asking if there’s…any truth to it. Not the grades part, of course, but…is there something going on between the two of you?”

Hermione paled. What was she supposed to say? “So you think that because Snape is acting weird, we must be sleeping together? You don’t think it’s because someone is spreading vicious lies about him?”

“Okay,” Ginny told her. “I was just asking.”

While she had let Ginny’s ‘on-the-nose’ accusation go, she couldn’t stop wondering if there was a possibility he was to blame. Maybe he wanted to quit but needed severance pay. He would have to be let go to be eligible for that. That was logical, even if completely morally wrong. Why her though? Was it simply because she was Harry Potter’s friend? Was he really that damaged of a person? Those sketches did draw him in a better light than they did her. Was there something to that? 

What was even more disturbing was the thought that she may have reminded him of Harry’s mother. Remus had told her once that she was a lot like Lily. Trusting and kind… Perhaps too trusting! Was he using her to play out some sick fantasy with a dead woman? The thought made her sick. She couldn’t spend one more second not knowing the truth. She didn’t know what his story would be, but she was sure as hell going to find out. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Severus sat in his quarters Saturday evening thinking about what the hell he was going to do if Minerva found out he had fucked the girl. He could certainly open his own apothecary, but that seemed like a lot of work. Not to mention he would have to find another place to live. And what would he eat, he asked himself as Buddy appeared in his room with dinner. “Thank you Buddy,” he said as he took the trey. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about those sketches going around the school would you?”

“No, Master,” Buddy said bowing so low his nose almost touched the floor. “We is knowing nothing excepts we don’t trusts Miss Granger.”

“What do you mean?” Severus asked.

“She is always having doodle on the papers she leaves laying around in her room, Master. She is a sneaky one too! Always sticking her nose where it doesn’t belongs, Sir. Always misbehaving!” he said.

“But what could she possibly gain from all of this?” he asked the elf disbelievingly.

The elf shrugged as he said, “We thinks she acts naught for attention, Sir. A lot of wizard children does it.” 

Severus nodded. “Thank you, Buddy. That will be all.”

The elf disapparated leaving Severus to process the information alone. Buddy did have a point. She had always sought his attention and always disregarded the rules. Was this the girl’s final attempt to get his approval? She would really have to be fucked up in the head if it was. She is friends with Potter, so her sanity should be in question. Now that he thought of it, the paper had focus on Potter and Weasley a lot after the war. Perhaps she felt she hadn’t gotten the recognition she deserved. Was this her way of forcing herself to the front of the paper? That was entirely possible. He was the one who had to face the more severe consequence. He could be fired, while she was merely being painted as a trollop. Was Skeeter right? Did the girl hold some sort of grudge against him? It was possible, even if it was ludicrous. He had done everything within his power to protect the school and all the damn brats in it. Not that the papers reported it that way. 

“Fuck,” he muttered to himself. He had, at times, been particularly cruel to the girl simply because he reminded him of his youth. His anger had been what had kept him alive during the war. Every time he saw a glimpse of his younger self in her studiousness, or kindness that reminded him of Lily, too naive to see Potter for whom he really was, he’d lashed out at her. But she had let him fuck her. Why would she do that? Was she going to wait and use it against him later? Did she intend to make him miserable for months before dropping the bomb? He sure as hell wasn’t about to let her get away with that. He needed to confront her now while he still has some solid ground under him.


	11. The Rat, The Spy, And The Toad

As Severus was rounding the stairs on the fourth floor landing when he came across Miss Granger, who seemed in as much of a hurry as he was. Too bad for her, he thought as he approached her. Whatever she was rushing off to do would have to wait. She squeaked as he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the nearest classroom. “You have some nerve,” he said shutting the door behind them.

“Me?” she nearly shouted. “You’re nothing but a lecher!” 

“You’re the twisted one. You little brats still can’t let the past go. Can you?” he snarled.

“WE can’t let the past go?” she repeated. There was a jingling noise, and they both looked up the stars to the little landing of the second floor of the Defense of the Dark Arts Classroom.

“What the devil are you two doing here?” Darvin asked as he appeared in the doorway of his office. As he came walking down the steps in a hurry, he told them, “The two of you cannot be seen sneaking into classrooms after school hours. Are you both mad?” Severus and Hermione looked at him as he ran a hand through his hair walking up to them. “Okay, this is what we’re going to do. Miss Granger, I’m going to escort you back to Gryffindor Tower. Severus, wait here for a few minutes before you leave.”

“How are we supposed to figure out who’s doing this if we cannot talk to each other?” Hermione questioned throwing her hands up in the air. 

Severus lazily flicked his wand at the DADA teacher who then swayed with dizziness. He only just sat down on the floor beside them before he was out cold. 

“What’d you do to him?!” Hermione shrieked. 

Brushing off her outrage, he said, “He’s fine. He’s just napping.” He flicked his wand at the door before saying, “Probably should have done that before we started shouting.”

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. Stepping over the legs of the man on the floor, she poked Severus in the chest. “Are you trying to get severance pay?” she demanded narrowing her eyes at him. 

Severus laughed, “What?” 

“Are you trying to get back at Potter? Either of them? Or are you really just some dirty old man?” she accused.

“Old?” he repeated, obviously insulted. Severus grabbed the hand that was jabbing him in the chest.“I am not responsible for this! You are a far more likely culprit. You’re always acting out. Always trying to get attention. I’ve done everything I can to keep you and your idiot friends alive, and this is how you repay me? You keep me from my death, from peace, just to throw me back into chaos. You let me see,” he wiggled his fingers at the side of his head, “dirty things and made me question my own sanity! I never would have even considered fucking you if it hadn’t been for that. You encouraged it. You kept pushing my buttons until I snapped, so you would have something to hold over my head. What have I ever done to you to deserve you torturing me?!”

She looked surprised and hurt. “None of that’s true. How could you even think I’m trying to ruin your life? And just for my entertainment?” She yanked her hand free from his grasp.

Severus wasn’t buying it. “A little elf enlightened me as to the kind of person you really are. Tell me. Do like to draw in your spare time?”

Hermione shook her head. “The elves hate me because of S.P.E.W. They think I’m the devil just because I wanted to give them all freedom when I was in fourth year.”

“What the hell is spew?” he asked her.

She huffed. “It’s not spew. It’s S-P-E-W. The Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare.”

“Of course it is,” he mocked. “How could you think I was trying to get myself fired? That’s absurd.” Severus looked down at the man on the floor. 

“I suppose this is what they want. It will probably only make thing easier for them if they turn us against each other. Who the hell is doing this?” she asked as she took a seat in the nearest chair. “And what are we going to do with him?”

“We should wake him up and take him up on his offer,” he suggested.

She looked up at him and asked, “But what if it’s him?”

“Well, if it is, we can assume there will be something new about us tomorrow seeing as how he’s caught us sneaking around. But it isn’t him. He would have to be a special kind of stupid to cross me,” Severus told her.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Severus sat down in the chair next to her. He hesitated before answering, “You cannot tell anyone this, but his family hired me to brew wolfsbane for his niece, Lavender, every month. They don’t want anyone to know she has the affliction.”

“Oh gods,” Hermione said. “I had no idea that she was bitten. It never occurred to me that they were related.”

“Why would he risk me outing that secret they seem to be so ashamed of? Not to mention they’d have to find someone else capable of brewing the potion. Once mistake could be fatal!” he said. 

“I suppose you’re right. It isn’t likely to be him. I don’t want to risk it though,” she told him. 

“You want to obliviated him?” he assumed.

Hermione nodded. “We can do as he suggested, but we’ll have him think I was here asking about homework.” 

“We should find a way to communicate without risking this happening again,” she said. “Oh, the protean charm!”

“That,” he said, “is a good idea, actually.”

Hermione beamed at him. That smile. He was suddenly struck with the desire to kiss her. It seemed distasteful, though, to kiss her while Darvin lay sleeping on his classroom floor not two feet away.

“I can send the room number, and if you can meet me, you can send me back a time. Military time is best I think. It’s 13 instead of 1pm-” she explained.

“I know what military time is, Miss Granger!” he snapped.

“Okay,” she said pulling out her wand. Hermione conjured two generic keys and placed the charm on them. “Here,” she said handing him one of them. She conjured a necklace and threaded her key onto it before slipping it over her head. “I put dirty things in your head,” she scoffed.

“You did!” he insisted.

“What? You knew I was in the bathroom with you, and you decided it was a good idea to show me your…” she motioned to his crotch. “Why?” she asked him.

He stated, “I thought it would scare you off!”

“Well it didn’t,” she said looking down to his lap.

“Apparently,” he said quietly. Severus stood up and tucked the key in his pocket. He needed to get out of there before he ended up bending her over the desk with a sleeping audience at his feet. He walked around to stand behind a pillar. “Obliviate him, and then I’ll wake him up. Make him think he slipped while he was walking you out,” he told her. 

~~~

The next morning, Hermione got a message from the Headmistress requesting she come to her office immediately. She was starving, but breakfast would have to wait. As soon as she walked in, she knew it wasn’t good. Professor Snape was standing off to the side near the window with his arms folded. 

“Thank you for getting here so quickly, Miss Granger,” McGonagall said to Hermione who took a seat. “We have a problem.”

“That’s not news,” Professor Snape informs her.

McGonagall glared at him. “Mr. Malfoy has apparently gathered over six hundred signatures on a petition to allow a private investigator into the school to straighten out this problem.”

“You’re joking?” said Hermione. 

“That’s not surprising at all,” Professor Snape tells her. 

“It gets worse, Severus. Lucius has hired Dolores Umbridge to head the investigation,” McGonagall stated as if the names taste foul. “You two need to be extremely careful what you do and say.”

“Do you think the Malfoy’s could be behind it?” asked Hermione.

“No,” Professor Snape stated firmly. 

Hermione wasn’t about to accept his dismissal without an explanation. “Draco Malfoy has always hated me. Now his father is the one sending in that monster. It very well could be the two of them.” She went on, “He probably hired his own investigator to manipulate the situation, to throw us all off.”

Professor Snape shook his head, but McGonagall seemed to agree with her. “Severus, you know this would be far from the worst thing Lucius Malfoy has done.”

“Yeah, he gave Ginny a diary possessed by a demon when she was only eleven,” Hermione reminded him.

“Lucius may be causing a ruckus, but he did not start this problem. Draco Malfoy is alive because of me. His is not thought of as a murderer because of me,” he replied. Neither of the women pressed the issue further. 

Hermione walked down the stairs from the Headmistress’ office and out into the entrance hall. Across the way stood the pink toad. She was already in the school, and she was talking with Marietta. Fantastic, she thought. The girl is probably telling her all kinds of lies. This was really going to be horrible. Umbridge undoubtedly had a grudge of her own…against both of them.

Knowing there was nothing to be done about it, she went to breakfast and sat down next to Ginny. “Umbridge is here investigating,” Hermione whispered to her.

“No! I thought the Ministry sacked her,” Ginny replied. 

“Lucius Malfoy petitioned the Ministry to allow his own private investigator into the school,” she said stabbing at a link of sausage.

Ginny shook her head. “Hey, I heard something last night, but I don’t know if it means anything. Apparently, Zacharias Smith was the first one who got a hold of the first set of drawings.” Ginny looked over her shoulder to see if any of the Hufflepuffs were paying attention to them. “Remember how he was in the DA? He kept badgering Harry for details about Cedric and what happened at the Ministry of Magic. And he abandoned us during the final battle.”

Hermione looked over her shoulder at the boy with his back to her a little way down the table. “I don’t know. I thought he was just a prat and a coward. If you’re right, why would he be trying to ruin my life?”

Ginny shrugged, “Maybe he likes you and knows he can’t have you. Oh, maybe he’s getting back at Snape. It would make sense if he was hoping Voldy would have taken Harry out. He is a pureblood.”

“Okay,” Hermione said, “but he wasn’t the one who ratted us out. Marietta was.”

Ginny chewed on her lip trying to think. “What if he didn’t rat us out because he wanted to gain information on us? He couldn’t keep spying on us if he went and tattled.”

“I don’t know,” was all Hermione replied.


	12. The Nuthouse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Photo warning. Adult image at end of chapter.

Hermione was shocked when her key heated while she was pulling out her sleepwear that night. He had indicated room number 513. She responded with a time of thirty minutes from then. While putting her sleepwear on, she wondered what prompted him to message her. She knew he must have found out some vital information because there would be no other reason to call upon her so soon and with Umbridge roaming the school. 

Luckily, she had the Marauder’s Map. Filch was standing in the hallway of the sixth floor. When he went into one of the classroom to inspect something, she sneaked past the door and padded quietly down the staircase. As soon as her foot hit the landing, she saw the top of a pink hat bobbing up the stairs coming from the fourth floor. Fuck! She hadn’t checked the fourth floor. Hermione ducked into the first room she came to. Room 510. Professor Snape stood in the classroom across the hallway, and Umbridge’s label showed her walking the length of the hall between them. Once at the end, she turned around to come back, and hopefully she would proceed to the next floor. She stopped, though. She stopped just between their doors. What was she doing? Peeves had apparently just come into the hallway and was approaching her. Hermione pressed her ear to the door to try and hear them. They had hated each other, so this was bound to be interesting.

“I did what you asked, your royal hind-ass,” Peeves mocked. 

“Too bad you didn’t learn some manners while you were at it,” Umbridge she said trying to keep a sweet tone. 

Peeves laughed loudly. The sound rang in the hall until it died down with him sweeping off to another floor. Umbridge finally left, and Hermione took the chance to dart across the hall. She was alarmed to be standing at wand point, Professor Snape obviously expecting her to be one of the other two. They both let out a deep breath upon seeing each other. 

Casting a locking charm on the door, he told her, “There’s already a silencing charm.”

“Did you hear them talking just now? What did you find out?” she asked looking at him with hope filled eyes.

He looked at her blankly for a moment before saying, “I heard them. We already knew we couldn't trust either of them. Don’t drink anything around Umbridge. Especially if she’s trying to interview you.”

"What else do you know?" she asked. He simply shrugged. Really? “You made me sneak out after curfew to tell me not to let Umbridge slip me veritaserum?” she asked on the border of being outraged.

“Of course not,” he told her.

“What then?” she demanded. He looked away from her at that. Did he look guilty? What the hell was going on? “What did you do?”

His eyes snapped back to her. “Nothing,” he hissed. “I just-I wanted…” 

“Tell me, or I’m leaving right now,” she demanded. Hermione was taken aback as he lunged forward and captured her lips. Once she registered what he had been trying to tell her, she started kissing him back. He kissed like a man desperate for affection, and it made her feel needed. More importantly, it made her feel wanted. It had been an awful few weeks, and they deserved a break from it all. Didn’t they? When he lifted her up, she wrapped her legs around his waist. He carried her over to the desk at the back of the room and laid her down while leaning over her to continue kissing her. 

Hermione fumbled with his belt while he unnotted the tie of her robe and worked on the buttons of her nightshirt. As she reached under the waist of his briefs and closed her hand around his hot member, he moaned into her mouth. He pulled away from her as he got the last of the buttons free and pushed open her shirt exposing her pert breasts. 

She arched her back and buried her fingers in his hair as drew one nipple into his mouth. He nibbled and teased it to a stiff peak before moving on to the next one. Once satisfied, he pulled her pajama pants and panties down and off of her swiftly. Thank Gods for elastic waists in sleepwear, she thought. Hermione propped herself up on her elbows to look down between her legs where he was hurriedly pulling himself out of his briefs. Seeing his large, swollen member made her blush and bit down on her lip. 

Professor Snape stepped up between her legs and positioned himself with one hand while he returned to kissing her and kneading one breast with his free hand. His mouth fell slack against hers as he slowly pushed into her. Impatient, Hermione wrapped her legs around him and pulled him in closer. With a pained groan, he settled inside her completely. He made quick work of setting a rhythmic pace of hammering into her. 

Hermione squeezed hard every time he withdrew. The look on his face was worth a thousand outstandings and from him, no less. She pulled him back to her and thrust her tongue in his mouth as soon as he was within reach. Sliding a hand between them, he found her clit and rubbed in furious circles. Hermione was on the verge of release quickly, and she figured he was about to lose composure based on the attack he’d just unleashed on her. As soon as her walls started contacting, strangling him, he let out a low moan and stiffened above her. His had slowed, impeded by his own orgasm, but she was already on the tail end of hers. 

Without giving it much thought, Hermione pushed him back and slid off of the desk to kneel at his feet. Looking at her with a puzzled expression, he opened his mouth to say something, but the only thing that came out was a hiss of agonizing pleasure. Hermione wrapped her lips around him, swirling her tongue around his wet and flagging member. She had wanted to have him in her mouth before, and she didn’t care that he wasn’t going to finish again. In fact, it took some of the pressure off. His hand came down to cup her cheek, and she decided with that gesture that she was going to do this again having every intention of getting him off. She wanted to feel that control of him. She craved that power, and judging by the look on his face, he craved giving it to her. 

~~~~~~ 

Severus sat in his office with his head in his hands during lunch the next day. All hell was breaking loose, and there was almost nothing to be done about it. There had been another lovely little drawing circulating the school, AND that Skeeter bitch had published an article about the Ministry of Magic allowing Umbridge to investigate. He growled at the sound of knocking at his door. “What?” he barked nastily. 

The door opened slowly, and to his surprise, Miss Lovegood was standing in the doorway holding her books. “Miss Lovegood, now isn’t the best time,” he began to tell her.

“Please, Sir. I found something I thought might be of use to you,” she told him with an odd pleading look. 

“Very well,” he said motioning her inside. She walked over to the front of his desk and set a book down in front of him. 

She explained, “It’s the teacher’s handbook for Hogwarts; it was published many years ago. It was never amended, so everything in it should still be accurate.”

“How is this of any use to me?” he asked becoming annoyed. 

The ditsy girl shrugged and told him, “The rules in it are more restrictive than the law as far as the age of consent is concerned. The rule states that no staff member shall fornicate with a student under the age of eighteen. So they don’t have grounds to fire you over all this drama.”

“As much as I appreciate that Miss Lovegood, it is obvious that it is meant to apply to all students, as they are typically all under the age of eighteen, except perhaps some in the last few months of their last year. It is logical to assume it was meant to encompass all students,” he said.

“With all due respect, Sir, intention means nothing without proof. It should be taken as it is written. And Hermione isn’t eighteen,” she said. He looked up at her feeling panic threatening to choking him. “She’s nineteen. Surely the founders didn’t intend for there to be older students than eighteen.” The girl smiled at him brightly before turning to walk out. Once at the door, she turned back and told him, “I think you’d make a cute couple. If you aren’t dating, maybe you should think about it.” With that she left the room. Severus sat staring at the door she’d left through for quite some time. He lived and worked in a fucking nuthouse! Mad. They’ve all gone mad. Couple? He laughed at that. He was interested in a quick fuck and nothing more. And so was she!


	13. Crescendo

Severus approached the open door with dread. It was too early for Miss Granger to have already been interrogated, so he must be the first of the two of them to suffer Umbridge. Wanting to get this over with, he swept into the room. He only needed to be careful not to say thing that the girl may inadvertently contradict. It shouldn’t be too difficult. He would just be short and nasty; he was good at that.

“Please have a seat, Professor Snape,” Umbridge said sweetly, her voice like antifreeze. “I trust you know why you’re here.” She picked up her cup of tea and sipped it annoyingly. Too bad it wasn’t poison.

“Let’s get this over with. I have more important things to do today,” he said blandly while picking at an imaginary piece of ling on his robes. 

The pink pig nodded. That was it! She reminded him of Miss Piggy. “I would think that clearing your name would be of the utmost importance to you. Very well, then. How long have you been engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Miss Granger?”

Severus glared at her. “I have never had an inappropriate relationship with her or any of my students, an I do not appreciate the accusation.”

“Right,” she said while writing something on her clipboard. “When was the first time you found yourself attracted to young girls? Was that why you became a teacher?”

Snape snapped, “I am NOT attracted to young girls. I only came here to teach because the Dark Lord demanded I do so when I was young. You must have miss that edition of the daily prophet while you were in St. Mungo’s mental ward.” 

“Those were nothing but nasty rumors,” she huffed. Collecting herself, she scribbled something down and said, “Did the “Dark Lord” demand that you molest your students? Is that what started you down this path?” 

Snape stood up abruptly and leaned over her desk menacingly. “I haven’t molested anyone, and this interrogation is over. I will not be intimidated by you. There is no proof to be found that I have committed a crime because I haven’t.” He had never, in all of his life, wanted to piss in someone’s teacup until he met this bitch. And that was the first time! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione had study hall that before lunchtime. Her transfiguration project was coming alone smoothly, in spite of being in a foul mood. She decided to take the opportunity to get a little extra studying in. When she went to put the reference book she had taken out back on its shelf, she noticed Denis Creevey sitting by himself on the other side of the library. He seemed to be scribbling rather quickly while he was hunched over his paper. Curious, she walked along the shelf behind him and quietly drew a book from the shelf. After pulling one tome through from the other side as well, she could make out the edge of the paper he was writing on. There appeared to be a human foot on it, not words. He’d drawn a foot on the corner of the page! Was he the artist?! Was he sketching her sprawled out lewdly right now? Oh, the things she was going to do to him!

Hermione nearly gasped aloud as he leaned back in his chair to stretch his back. The image was gruesome. The man, whoever he was, had his throat slit and was lying in a pool of blood with a vampire hunched over him. It suddenly occurred to her that perhaps the person or persons behind this whole thing actually meant her harm. Physical harm! Had Creevey turned into some sadistic and vengeful boy? Apparently, but was he guilty or was someone else lying in wait to attach her? Not wanting to take any chances, Hermione set out to find a secluded corner where she could message Snape with the key. If their safety was being threatened she needed to warn him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Severus was almost to his classroom when he felt the key warm up. The message said 10pm. He would have to wait to respond to her. Now was not a good time, not a good time at all. Having just confiscated three ‘Professor Snape and Hermione Granger’ pornographic pictures, from third years no less, he was in a foul mood, indeed. He would have to ask Minerva to write to their parents. He hated asking her for anything.

He wanted to see Miss Granger. There was no question about that, but it was a foolish idea. Worst case scenario, they could run away from it all together. They could hide out in some small cottage in the country, and he could spend his days with her soft feminine legs wrapped around him. He’d have to find a new job, though, he groaned mentally. But if he could come home at the end of the day and have her waiting on her knees for him, he’d gladly do a muggle’s day of work. Gods! What was he thinking? Get a grip, he scolded himself. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione was so on edge that she couldn’t bring herself to join the others for lunch. The Creevey thing had really gotten to her, and she was still upset about the letter she had gotten from Harry that morning. Oh, he was fine. He understood, but apparently, Molly and Ronald were up in arms about all of this. If Ginny knew her mother was so upset, she hadn’t said anything to her about it. Just wanting to be alone, she snuck into the kitchens to sit with the elves. 

“Mudbloods and traitor,” mumbled a scratchy voice behind her.

Hermione turned around and gasped as she saw Kreacher standing there with a butcher knife in one hand and a large headless fish in the other. “Kreacher, you scared me!” she nearly shouted. Fuck. She hadn’t felt this jumpy since her time in the woods with Harry and Ron. 

“It’s talking to us. Don’t listen,” he whispered to the headless fish as he walked by her. 

Was there no place that was safe? She knew Kreacher couldn’t be the one making those pictures, but she still didn’t want to stand around waiting for him to murder her. While his relationship with Harry had improved, he still hated her with a passion. Some things never change, she thought. Was it possible that whoever was making them was having someone else distributing them? She wouldn’t put it past Kreacher to do that. “Kreacher?” she called out. The elf ignored her. 

“Yous should be in the great hall with the other students miss,” Winky squeaked. “Yous not welcome here by most because of the dirty tricks you plays.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. I’ll go. But do you know who is making those horrible pictures?” she asked while she had the chance. 

Winky shook her head and looked over her shoulder before saying, “I is cleaning the Gryffindor common room on weekends. I finds pictures like that. Lots of pictures.” She made a crinkled disgusted face. 

“And are they drawings of me? Or Professor Snape?” Hermione asked her.

“No miss. They is camera pictures. All kinds of witches. Not many wizards,” she whispered.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Thank you Winky,” she said. Well that was helpful. Gryffindor boys like Playwitch. How enlightening. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Severus was walking up to the great hall for lunch when he heard a ruckus just up the way on the main floor landing. Rushing to see what was wrong, he was furious to find Peeve chanting amidst a group of laughing students from various houses. Laughing students, that was never a good sign. 

I’m a pervy teacher, desperate for a trick.  
Here are my balls, here is my prick.  
When I get all worked up, what I want is sick,  
Lick me all over but don’t you dare pout.  
I’m a very special perv, just for you,  
Here, let me show you what I can do.  
I can squeeze my ball, and you can lick my prick,  
Flick over the head, and hear me shout.

Fuck! Fuck! That was definitely the most horrifying, not to mention bad, rendition of ‘I’m a little tea pot’ he’d ever heard. “Peeves!” he shouted, sending students scurrying off. Of course that had to be when Miss Granger rounded the corner that lead to the kitchens and Peeves was off again. The girl turned an adorable shade of pink that made him want to push her into a dark corner and kiss her, but he had to deal with the poltergeist. “Don’t make me call the Baron,” he warned.

“You’re going to be out of here for good soon. Maybe you can take him with you,” Peeves said as he blew a raspberry into the air obnoxiously. 

With a quick glance, he swept past Miss Granger into the great hall. Minerva agreed to speak to the third year student’s parents and also see about having the Baron follow Peeves around for a while to keep him in check. It was the best they could do for now. Thankfully, the afternoon was much calmer. 

Severus headed back to his rooms after dinner. He would just have to ignore the girl’s request to meet him. It was too dangerous. She was a dangerous temptress who seemed to have figured out a way to get him by the balls. She was getting into his head and fucking up his thoughts. Just that afternoon he had thought about running away with her. 

He passed Draco Malfoy outside the Slytherin common room and stopped short of reaching his chamber’s entrance. What if Skeeter really was acting alone? What if she’d found a way into the school, like Malfoy had found a way to get the Death Eaters in? Deciding it was worth the risk, he messaged Miss Granger with three letters. ‘ROR’. It was the right call, he told himself. This was about sharing information. It was not about giving in to his misbehaving cock.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione was sitting on her bed when the key heated. She had thought he wasn’t going to respond to her. Perhaps he had just as rough of a day as she had. It said ‘ROR’. She knew exactly what that meant but was surprised it was what he had suggested. He must want her again. That was the perfect place to carry on their affair. Wasn’t it? It would be whatever they wanted too. A bedroom with candles and a fireplace. A beach. His classroom, her dirty mind threw in. She just needed to remember to warn him about how dangerous things were getting.

She still had about two hours before she was to meet him outside the room, so she shaved and put on some makeup. She dug through her closet throwing one thing after another out onto the floor. A trench coat caught her eye. Yes, the thought. He’ll love it. Hell, she’d have a hard time saying no to a woman who dressed that way for her. The entire thirty minutes before she left, she studied the map making sure she knew exactly who was out roaming around and where they were. It would not do to be caught dressed like this. That would be bad. Very, very bad.


	14. Thriller

Severus turned the corner to find Miss Granger standing just outside the room of requirements waiting for him, apparently. The girl was dressed in a long coat like some sort of muggle detective. He’d have to give her shit about it later. Neither of them spoke until they entered the room. It was too risky. Walking in to the space filled with junk, for lack of a better word, he turned to look at her. “I’m rethinking the possibility Skeeter has found a way into the school. The simplest explanation is always the most likely, and in this case, it would be that Skeeter is working alone.”

“Oh,” she exclaimed. “I suppose you’re right. We just both assumed there was no way in, but we’ve been wrong about that before. I wanted to tell you I found Creevey drawing a rather graphic, violent picture while I was in the library. It dawned on me that someone may intend to attack us.” 

The girl looked worried, and there wasn’t much he could say to reassure her. “We’ll figure it out. The two of us have to be smarter than whoever is doing this,” he told her. “Let’s have a look around to make sure there isn’t anything like that vanishing cabinet that used to be in here.”

“Right,” she nodded. She followed closely behind him as he weaved through the maze of debris. The moved several dozen items, overturned furniture, and dumped our several buckets of items. Nearly an hour later, they still hadn’t found anything. “If we were going to find anything in here, I believe we would have already.” He hated to admit it, but she was right. “Look,” she said as she walked out to an open area twenty feet off to the right. Severus followed the girl and stopped as he looked upon a large bed against the wall. “I’d say this is for us. What do you think?” she asked with a sly smile that made his blood rush south. Before he could answer, she untied the tie around her waist and let the coat fall to the floor.

Severus stood with his mouth agape as he watched her walk to the bed and climb up on to it. She hadn’t had anything under the coat but black undergarments. Black lacy bra and panties. Black stockings and garter belt. Black was always his favorite color. Wasting no time, he walked over to her and found her lips as he lifted a knee onto the bed, pushing her down on her back. The girl immediately started unfastening his cloak and went for the buttons on his shirt. With a wave of his hand, the buttons all came undone for her. Never leaving her lips, he pulled his arms from the sleeves while she unzipped his pants.

Kicking off his boots, he yanked his trousers off and climbed back on the bed with her. He had no idea why the girl seemed so enraptured with his body. He was pale and skinny, but he wasn’t about to complain about her attention. Severus was surprised when she pushed him onto his back and straddled his hips, his cock straining into the warmth between her legs. He groaned at her heat as he pushed the straps of her bra down her arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione rocked her hips above him, rubbing herself along his length. He liked her choice of clothing, apparently. Slithering her way down, she cupped him through his briefs and rubbed against the long contour of his cock. Groaning, he reached down and stoked her cheek while watching her. Pulling the elastic waist down his legs, his eager member lay against his tight lower abdomen. She smiled up at him as she took him in her hand and ran the tip of her tongue along the length of his shaft. His eyes closed and his stomach muscles flexed. When his head leaned back on the bed, Hermione swirled her tongue around the head of his cock before closing her lips around it. 

The noises he was making were giving her quite a thrill. She was doing that to him. She was making Severus Snape whimper and beg. She sucks him until he was trembling and pulling on her hair to get her off of him before he came in her mouth. 

When Hermione came up to kiss him, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled her over onto her back while unclasping her bra. He drew it down her arms and took one nipple in his mouth biting gently. She arched her back into him and whined as one of his hands snaked its way down between her legs to stroke her through her wet knickers. 

Before she knew it, he was tugging on her panties, and once free, she lay with her legs spread and knees bent with him kneeling between them. He looked as though he planned on devouring her. Grabbing her by the hips, he lifted her up so the backs of her legs rested on his thighs. He pushed into her and griped her tightly while he slowly pushed all the way into her. He appeared to be holding quite a bit back, so she moved her feet flat on the mattress on either side of him to give herself leverage to push back against him while he fucked her in this position. 

Following her lead, he quickened his pace until he was pounding into her. His sinewy chest glistened with sweat, and she reached up to touch the silky hair around his navel. “Ahh!” she jerked up against him when his thumb came to rests right on her sensitive bud. His hand’s fevered ministrations quickly brought her to be a tightly wound bundle of nerves, but he abandoned his actions to run his hands up her torso, over her ribs, and on top of her breasts. He squeezed roughly as he continued to hammer into her. 

Hermione wanted to feel his weight on her, his naked body rubbing against her, so she pulled on his arms until he gave in and repositioned himself on top of her. His legs, however, were outside of her, and it made for an incredibly tight fit with him straddling her. He struggled to force his way into her, and judging by face he was making, he was either in a great deal of pain, or he was loving it. Surprisingly, it created a great deal more friction for her as well. This had to be her new favorite position. It seemed so unnatural to have her legs closed while having sex, but it felt fucking amazing. 

He looked as though he was desperately trying to keep his composure, but after a few more thrusts, it was Hermione that was climaxing around his huge shaft that was nearly welded inside of her. “Say my name, Hermione,” he said against her lips while he continued panting. 

Mouth open, Hermione’s hot breath mixed with his. “Se-Severus,” she whimpered as she chased the tail end of her orgasm, squeezing the life out of him. 

“Uh,” he grunted as he thrust into her as much as he could the last few times. 

When Hermione relaxed her hips, he switched to slower, longer stokes. She could tell he was flagging, but everything was so incredibly wet, it was keeping her aroused. She could feel some of their fluids being pushed out of her. He eventually stopped, but he took her lips with his, continuing his caressing with his tongue. 

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

It had been incredibly foolish to cross that line and say her given name, but it didn’t mean anything. It didn’t mean he was smitten. It didn’t! But he was, and he wanted to keep kissing her until he fell asleep from exhaustion. He was slipping out of her now, his member completely spent. The fact that the girl had planned on surprising him with sex was…well, it was far more touching than it should have been. He was going soft, just like his prick. But if that meant he could have her, he’d be as pansy assed as they come. As true as that was, it was a bit painful to admit. 

“Can’t we just stay here?” she asked.

Stay? Stay and sleep with her in my arms? “That’s not the best idea. How would we get out of here unseen in the morning?” he asked her.

“Charm an alarm to sound early. And I have the….map. Erm,” she said. He wasn’t sure what map she was talking about. “I have a map of the inhabitants of the school. I’ll know when it’s safe for us to leave. You’ll just have to trust me. AND I have been looking for anyone who may be spying on us,” she added when he looked at her with annoyance. 

“Fine,” he huffed as he threw his head back against the pillow. She reached down, and pulled the comforter up over the two of them and settled down on his chest, her head tucked under his chin. He had to flatten out some of the curl that were tickling his face, but he as content as he’d ever been in his life. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blood was pulsing in the head of his cock, and it took him a few seconds to fully rouse and register the shape of Hermione Granger under the blanket. “Oooh,” he breathed. What a way to wake up, he thought as she flicked over the tip with her tongue. Throwing the blanket off, so he could watch, he looked down to see a devilish grin on the girl’s face as she dipped the tip of her tongue into his slit. 

“Gaa,” he uttered as he drew his knees together. It didn’t stop her, though. She was clearly determined to have him for breakfast. Severus moaned loudly as she messaged his balls with one hand while the other loosely worked his shaft. With her bobbing up and down on just the tip repeatedly, he was bound to give her a mouthful and soon. He reached down to stop her, but she looked up at him with a pathetic little pout.

“Please?” she begged. The world had definitely gone mad. If he had any doubts about it before, he was sure now. Never before in his life had anyone, let alone someone he wanted, begged him to cum in their mouth. What the hell was the matter with him? Why had he stopped her?! “By all means,” he said acting defeated. 

Hermione smiled and went back to attacking his meat. A few more swirls of her tongue, and he was shooting his load onto her tongue. She looked like she was enjoying herself too, lapping him up after she’d swallowed it all. He lay there boneless as she crawled back up the bed and kissed him deeply. The salty taste of his seed lingered on her tongue, but it would be a mistake to complain about it. It wasn’t that bad, but he much preferred the taste of sweet little cunny. She eventually settled back down onto his chest, nearly purring like a happy kitten. “What time is it?” he asked her.

“It’s nearly seven,” she answered. “We should go soon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione followed Severus to the door. Once she was sure it was clear and there was no one on the sixth floor, they walked out into the hallway. Not five paces later, Peeves floated up from the floor below and looked at them with his mouth open. 

“You!” he shouted. “What have you two been doing?” he said shaking an indignant finger at them. 

Severus knew there was no use in trying to hex him, so he said, “Miss Granger, go on. I’ll deal with him.”

“Sleeping with a student!” he shouted. “I’ve caught you now! You’ll be sacked.” Peeves continued shouting as Severus argued with him. 

He was being so loud that he was going to attracted attention. If the girl didn’t get out of there in a hurry, she was sure to be seen by someone. “Go,” he insisted. Just moments after Hermione disappeared, Professor Flitwick appeared.

“I’ve caught him! I’ve caught him with the Granger girl!” Peeves told the little wizard. 

“I don’t see Miss Granger,” Flitwick pointed out. “You really ought to be ashamed of yourself. Severus is a respected member of the staff, and you have some nerve spreading lies about him.”

Umbridge came waddling up the stairs. “What’s going on here? What is all the shouting about?”

“Snape was with the girl. Spent the night with her in her room, I bet,” Peeves explained. 

Umbridge’s eyes narrowed on Severus. “Explain yourself.”

“Peeves is insane. That’s what. He started yelling lies at random because he thinks it’s amusing. Surly you remember what it was like working here with him pestering you,” Snape sneered.

“Then what are you doing out of your cave at this hour?” she asked. “Why are you all the way up here?”

Flitwick jumped in. “He was meeting with me to discuss student progress, not that it is any of your concern. Not only that, in case you were unaware, Gryffindor Tower is not on the sixth floor. Now, if you will excuse us, we have somewhere better to be.”

Severus smirked at the two fuming pains in his ass as he walked by them to follow Filius to his office. 


	15. Worst Case Senario

“Thanks,” Severus said. “I woke up at five and couldn’t sleep. Went to the astronomy tower to watch the sunrise,” he lied. 

Filius waved him off, “Ah, don’t worry about it.”

~~~~~~~~ 

It had been such a close call that they hadn’t meet up for weeks now. Four long weeks. Nothing but a few stolen glances happened between them. Nothing had come of the incident, but Peeves and Umbridge made quite the fuss in McGonagall’s office. Umbridge was still lurking around, even though she had nothing on them. Malfoy must have been keeping the pressure on because the ministry insisted she remain ‘just in case’. The entire population of the school became more and more restless as they approached the last Hogsmeade weekend of term in late November. 

To Hermione, it felt like the calm before the storm. She was waiting for a bomb to drop, and walking around on high alert was becoming exhausting. The damn map hadn’t been much use at all. It saved her skin once or twice, but it gave no clues as to who the culprit could be. Thinking of ways Skeeter could get into the school was keeping her up at night, not that she had even seen Skeeter on the map. Although unlikely, polyjuice could be the answer to getting in. She didn’t even want to think about suspecting her friends, though. She couldn’t live with that kind of paranoia. Skeeter pretending to be Ginny would be a disaster. Maybe someone was actually letting her in intentionally. Once on the grounds, she could transform and not be found. But then, that would also require someone helping her. 

Not wanting to deal with Ron, Hermione split up with Ginny as soon as they arrived in Hogsmeade. After spending nearly an hour in the bookstore, Hermione wandered into Madam Paddifoot’s. Three pages into her new book, she heard a voice that made her cringe. Immediately, Hermione’s instincts were to jump up, run over, and pulverize the bitch, but as soon as she looked up and saw Smith talking with her, she decided it was better to watch them. 

So Ginny was right? It was him. But why? She hadn’t done anything to him. Had neither of them seen her sitting there? Unsure, Hermione hid behind her book trying to come up with a plan. Spotting the restroom near their table, she put her book down on the table. Thanking Merlin it was sweater weather, she drew her hood up over her head and walked to the small hallway that led to the restroom. Crouching down behind the wall, she strained to hear their conversation over the banter that was coming from the kitchen.

“They’re alright,” Smith said. 

Skeeter was silent for a moment. “Were you able to get what I asked for?”

“Well…” Smith said. He sounded rather smug to Hermione. “I did, but I have to tell you. Getting his was much harder than I’d imagined. I’ll give you hers for twenty galleons, but I want double for his.”

Skeeter hissed. “That’s ridiculous!” 

Smith laughed, “I may have taken a look at it, and trust me. It’s worth the extra galleons.”

“Really?” she said. 

There was more silence before the scuffling of chairs. They must have exchanged whatever it was. “You’d be surprised to know that the records are all kept in the infirmary,” Smith said. What? What records? “I happened to swipe the medical ones as well, but it’ll cost you another twenty. Each.”

“You sure are a business man,” she said sweetly. A few moments later, Hermione head the door chime as it shut behind them on their way out. 

This was not good. She knew there was nothing in any of her records (academic or medical) that was evidence of them having an affair, but who knew how Skeeter was going to interpret and twist the information. Their lives were none of anyone’s business! And Severus’ records. School records from twenty years ago? How would they even be relevant? Oh god! What had she been thinking? She was so focused on eavesdropping that she just let Skeeter walk out of there with the files. She should have stopped her. Although, it would have likely caused a scene, and she would have been in trouble for murder because life just isn’t fair. They hadn’t even mentioned their names. Had they? Smith still might not be the one making the fliers, but Skeeter could be paying him to let her into the school. 

Still afraid to contact Severus, which is what she was calling him in her mind now, she needed to talk to Ginny. She needed a sounding board to reflect on her thoughts. Hermione went back to her table, left a few sickles, and took off to the Hog’s Head. Spotting Ginny, Harry, and Ron in the back corner occupying a booth, Hermione stopped as she realized she’d have to sit next to Ron. Feeling trapped, Hermione took up a spot at the bar next to an old man wearing a tall pointed hat. 

“Butterbeer, please,” she ordered when the bartender came around. A table off to the left was being rather rambunctious, and their laughter drew her attention. It was no surprise that Slughorn was the one making the commotion after a few too many drinks. He wasn’t teaching at the school, but he just happened to be around on all of the Hogsmeade weekends. She figured he was probably lonely. Professor Brown was sitting on his left clutching his side from laughing too hard, and Professor Sprout was wiping her watery eyes. Professor Flitwick, sitting with his head just above the table, threw his hands up in the air as if conceding to something. Having no idea what they were talking about, she turned back to the drink in front of her. 

Professor Brown had probably been one of Slughorn’s students, but she wasn’t even sure if he had attended Hogwarts. Were they now friends or did they just happened to be drinking with the same group of people? It wouldn’t make sense for them to be friends, now that she’d thought of it. If they had been, wouldn’t he have suggested his family get the Wolfsbane potion from Slughorn instead? Hermione had been happily surprised to learn that Brown was a good teacher. He expected a lot of his students, and his class vaguely reminded her of having Severus teach Defense. 

Hermione sat and waited for her friends to get up from the table, but after she finished her second drink, she decided to give up and head back to the school. Awkwardly, she found herself jammed in the doorway with Professor Slughorn. “I’m sorry, Sir. I didn’t see you there.”

“That’s quite alright, dear. How have you been, Miss…Granger!?” he nearly shouted feeling proud of himself for remembering. 

“Good. Good,” she told him with a fake smile. “I didn’t know that you were friends with Professor Brown,” she mentioned hoping his response would give her more information. 

“Er,” he made a face. “More like acquaintances, I’d say. Can’t have too many of those, though. Can you? He was a student of mine back in the day.”

“Oh. I see,” she said. Not wanting the chance to ask him pass her by, she said, “Sir, has anyone asked you if you could brew Wolfsbane for them lately?” She just wanted to be sure. At this point, there was no being too careful. 

Slughorn frowned at her. “No.” He leaned in and grabbed her by the shoulder, “Have you been bitten, dear?”

“NO!” she surprised even herself with her loud answer. “No, Sir. I was just curious because Professor Snape said not many people can brew it. That’s all.”

“Well, he’s right about that. Professor Snape is an excellent potioneer. Proud to have taught him myself, but boy was he a thorn in my side,” he admitted. It had to be the alcohol.

“Really?” Hermione asked. “How so?” 

“He was a brilliant boy. Don’t get me wrong, but he never followed the text. He altered nearly every potion I assigned from second year on. I was always stuck trying to decide if I should give him high marks for excellent work or failing him for not following directions. Merlin, I hope he doesn’t teach his classes that way. I can’t imagine student being able to keep up with him,” Slughorn shook his head.

With a sigh Hermione responded, “Well, he assigns the text, but the directions he writes on the board are always altered, even if just a little bit. Most of the students don’t even notice it.” 

“Oh!” he said with exaggeration not having been listening to her. “And that one year! His fourth year I believe it was. I don’t know what was going on with him, but he blew up a cauldron nearly every week. And for some reason, it always led to him starting a fight with the Gryffindor boys. It was so bad that I had him in detention nearly every week. That’s how he managed to pass. He made it all up afterschool.”

“Sir, did you ever consider that the Gryffindor boys were the ones messing with his work?” she asked trying not to snap at him. 

Slughorn’s brow furrowed. “No. I suppose it’s possible, but Severus was the only one I ever saw start it.” He rolled his eyes. “Punched him right in the nose one time. Sirius Black, I mean.” He shook his head at the memory. “There was blood everywhere. It’s not something you see purebloods do very often. I wrote to his father about it because I was concerned he learned it from being exposed to some violent muggle film, but he never responded. Anyway, the next year things were back to normal.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

He hadn’t been alone with her in weeks. It was really starting to frustrate him and not just sexually. He would settle for just talking to her at this point, but they were under a damn microscope. It was too much of a risk. 

“Sir,” a boy’s voice shouted as someone jogged up next to him as he walked across the grounds. Draco Malfoy said, “I wanted to talk to you about my father.”

“There’s no need, Mr. Malfoy,” Severus interrupted. 

The boy said, “Okay, but I wanted to apologize anyway for what he’s doing. I mean with Umbridge. He’s not been the same since my mum left. He’s hell bent on making everyone else miserable.”

“I’m aware of that. I’ve known your father for many years,” reminded Snape.

“Well, I just,” the boy looked behind them before saying, “If you need anything, let me know. Like…an alibi if it ever comes to that.”

“What are you insinuating?” he demanded. 

The boy paled slightly. “Nothing, Sir. I know it’s all lies, but if you get caught in a rough spot…I’m just saying I know I owe you one.” 

Severus nodded. The boys offer was either kind, self-serving, or manipulative. He really didn’t believe either Malfoy had anything to do with this, but what a perfect way to get dirt on him. Send the boy over to him to get him to get inside information. Lucius always was a sneaky bastard…

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione sat on her bed staring down at the letter she had written debating whether or not to send it to Severus. She could charm it to open for a password, but how would he even know what it was? The key! Of course. All she had to do was send him a message with the password. He would be able to figure that out. Right? Just to be sure, she wrote on the front, ‘The key holds the answer’. Between that and the key warming up, there was no way he wouldn’t be able to figure it out. 

~~~~~~~~ 

Severus sat in his living quarters before dinner looking at the letter that was delivered to him while he was walking back to the castle entrance after having been stopped by Malfoy. He knew it was from her, the clever girl. He was torn between hoping it was a letter telling him she’d caught the bastard and was waiting for him to come to the execution or one saying she needed to see him, that she couldn’t stand being without him one more minute. He opened the letter and was surprised at how short it was. It read:

Zacharias Smith met with Skeeter in Hogsmeade. She paid him to steal academic and medical records. She has them. I don’t know what use they will be to her, but I’m sure she’ll think of a way to manipulate what’s in them. 

Severus dropped the letter and rushed out of his room with his robes billowing behind him. He didn’t stop until he was just outside of Madam Pomfrey’s office in the east side of the infirmary. Bang! Bang! Bang! His knuckles wrapped violently on her door.

“Severus?” Poppy said looking up at him in alarm. “What’s wrong?”

“I want my employment records,” he demanded. 

Poppy stepped out of the way to let him in. “Alright. Alright. Just give me a minute. What do you need them for, anyway?” she asked.

Ignoring her question, Severus asked, “Has Mr. Smith been in the hospital wing lately?” 

“Yes. Had a bloody nose just two days ago. Why?” she asked shuffling through the filing cabinet. Severus’ blood seemed to coagulate in his veins. His chest constricted, and he could hardly breathe. “That’s odd,” she said. Severus closed his eyes knowing what she was about to tell him. “They aren’t here.”

“Because they were stolen,” he hissed as he stood up. 

Poppy shook her head. “Not possible. I keep this room locked up pretty good, and I’m hardly away from here for very long at once considering the entrance to my rooms isn’t even twenty feet from here.”

“I think you’ll find Miss Granger’s files missing as well. You ought to reconsider your brilliant security, Poppy” he snapped as he briskly left the room. Fuck! This was bad. He had no choice but to go to Minerva. He hated going to Minerva. And for THIS? Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! He had to explain what had happened before Skeeter decided to fabricate details regarding the incident. Gods this was bad. So, so bad! What was Hermione going to think?

Severus stepped in to the Headmistress’ office and approached her at her desk slowly. “Minerva,” he said hesitantly. “I have to tell you something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is going to be the beginning of the end. I'm not sure how many chapters it is going to take to come to the resolution from that point, though, so don't be too sad!


	16. The Suspension Of Severus Snape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !Warning! for this chapter: 
> 
> There is implied / referenced non con/ underage / violence. There isn't anything that is overly graphic, as it is written in Skeeter's article that is newspaper appropriate. 
> 
> I updated the story tags. I do apologize for not having them all in there from the beginning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Minerva stated indignantly, “I can’t believe he swept this under the rug.” She gave him that look of Gryffindor disapproval. That one of injustice. She was furious.

“And draw negative attention to the school? He wasn’t about to lose his spy, Minerva, and that’s exactly what would have happened,” he explained. 

“I can’t help you out of this, Severus. It’s going to come out, and I can’t just ignore it,” she told him with disappointment written all over her face.

Severus said, “I know. I just wanted you to be prepared.”

~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione hadn’t heard anything back from Severus that evening, and after what she’d witnessed in Hogsmeade, she was surprised there was no article in the paper about them that morning. Monday evening Ginny came banging on her door just an hour before dinner time. “What?” she asked her.

Ginny squeezed by her to get into her room. “Shut the door,” she said. Worried, Hermione shut the door and cast a silencing charm just in case. “Shacklebolt was here with some guy in an auror uniform,” she said.

Hermione was surprised to hear the Minister of Magic had come to the school. That usually meant trouble. It had been a quiet day, though. “Why?”

“I don’t know, but they left with Snape. I know you said nothing happened between you, but…it’s just odd they escorted him out with an auror if they didn’t have proof of anything. Don’t you think?” said Ginny.

Hermione sat down on her bed and tried to process what Ginny had just told her. Did someone find proof? Where had they slipped up? They hadn’t been alone in a month for crying out loud. She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“It was weird. I saw it. He wasn’t in magical restraints. I think they didn’t want to make a scene at the school,” she explained. Hermione couldn’t make sense of it. “Maybe when they were investigating they found something. Maybe he really was sleeping with one of his students.” 

~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione tossed and turned all night long. What if she wasn’t the only one? What if he was sleeping with one of her classmates as well? Had he been caught with them recently? Is that why he hadn’t sent her a message wanting to see her? The thought made her sick. There had to be some other reason. The way he had been looking at her…she knew there was more than just hormones at play. Had she been fooling herself?

Tuesday morning came around eventually. She really didn’t feel like eating, but she thought it might look odd if she appeared all distressed over what had happened the night before. Hermione sat down next to Ginny in the Great Hall and poured a glass of juice for herself. McGonagall unexpectedly hushed them, not that it was necessary at that hour, to make an announcement.

“Now that I have your attention, I need to tell you that Professor Snape will be away until further notice. You will still be required to attend potions classes. They will be covered by the rest of the staff, including myself if need be, for the time being. I expect each of you to handle his absence with maturity, and I will not tolerate the spread of gossip. If you have any genuine concerns, please see your head of house. For now, Professor Flitwick will be acting as the head of Slytherin house. Now, you may carry on with your breakfast,” McGonagall informed. 

Hermione noticed that there were several owls circling the room. McGonagall must have prevented them from delivering the post while she made her announcement. Hermione wasn’t stupid. There was an article about them in the paper. There had to be, and it had to be bad. Once everyone was back to their breakfast, some engrossed in the paper, Hermione slipped hers under her arm and snuck out of the Hall as quietly as she could. Double checking to make sure she was alone in the fifth floor bathroom, she felt her stomach turn. 

“Hogwarts Professor Removed From Post For Sexual Misconduct”: By Rita Skeeter

Hogwarts Potion’s Master, Severus Snape, was removed from his teaching post late Monday once the Ministry of Magic became aware of a cover up of abuse nearly fifteen years ago. Mr. Snape was suspended for a two week time period following the sexual assault of one of his students. We will refer to the victim as Student X, as the Prophet is and has always been a strong advocate for victim’s rights. Mr. Snape found Student X and another schoolmate out of bed after hours on the night of January 23, 1983, the second year of Mr. Snape’s teaching career. Upon confronting the two, Mr. Snape shoved Student X into a nearby wall while groping Student X between the legs. At this point, the friend of Student X took off running, and Student X was left alone with Mr. Snape on the third floor corridor where he proceeded to threaten the poor student with sexual violence. Mr. Snape manually choked Student X as he continued his assault. Student X suffered contusions to the throat and neck as a result. It wasn’t until the caretaker, Argus Filch, stumbled upon them that Student X was able to escape. 

The current headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, who had a life long history of defying the Ministry of Magic, decided that the suspension of Mr. Snape for a two week time period was all that was necessary for the punishment of what he had done to Student X. If you recall my article, The Master Plan, regarding the actions of Albus Dumbledore, you’ll know just how valuable Mr. Snape was in the execution of Dumbledore’s plan to bring about the downfall of Voldemort. If he was willing to overlook the abuse of one student to ensure he kept his spy close at hand, how can we know there aren’t dozens of victims? 

A concerned citizen stumbled upon the documentation of the event and notified me personally. Knowing how hard this would be on all of the students, your very own children, I contacted the Minister immediately. I withheld the story for almost twenty four hours to ensure the removal of Mr. Snape was without incident. I’m please to inform you that Mr. Snape will not be returning to the school unless he can produce evidence that indicates he is innocent. That won’t be easy considering the record that was kept of the agreement of his suspension. It is documented that Mr. Snape fully admitted to touching Student X inappropriately. Albus Dumbledore, not Mr. Snape, was the individual who suggested all parties refrain from speaking of the incident. Unfortunately, the statute of limitations has run out, and charges cannot be brought against Mr. Snape for this crime. 

Upon learning this information, we are all thinking the same thing. How many more victims are out there? The investigation into his relationship with current student, Hermione Granger, is still pending at this time. Perhaps now that he no longer has access to the girl and cannot make threats against her, she will come forward with her story. I encourage anyone with any information to come forward, whether it is to me, Rita Skeeter (510 W. Sharps Ave) or the auror department. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Severus paced his kitchen with a glass of whiskey in his hand. He hated drinking, but what else could he do? There was no evidence proving his innocence because he wasn’t innocent. What he did was wrong, and the girl…the girl deserved justice, even if it destroyed him. Dumbledore smoothed the whole thing over. The girl’s parents had been outraged, but there wasn’t much they could do really with the girl refusing to talk. The girl had surly been traumatized. He was pretty sure he’d scared the living shit out her too.

It had been years, many years since he felt like crying, but he was nearly there. It was probably the booze, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Hermione. She had to have read the article in the paper by now. He was sure of it, but he couldn’t contact her. If they were caught it would look even worse than it would have just two days ago. Fuck. His life was fucked. Whomever it was that wanted to ruin him had succeeded. The Smith boy was just a tool. He was pretty damn sure of it, anyway. 

This wasn’t about Hermione at all. It was unfortunate that she had been dragged down with him. Considering that, Skeeter had to be in cahoots with someone because he couldn’t think of a reason she would be out for his blood like this. This was a vicious attack, even for Skeeter. He hadn’t stopped to think someone might actually be paying her. Or that someone was feeding it all to her knowing she couldn’t resist being in the middle of all the drama. How had he overlooked that? Hermione. She’d come to him explaining why Skeeter hated her. That’s how. She had taken responsibility from the beginning. 

Whoever was behind this had a vendetta against him. This was personal. This was about vengeance. This was the kind of malicious attack someone would persistently pursue because they’d lost someone they loved, because they thought they had lost everything. He knew because he’d been that man before. He’d been driven to the brink of madness after losing Lily, and she was never even his. He knew it was time to pay Lucius a visit. 

~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione read the article no less than ten times before she crumpled the page and tried to stuff it down the toilet. Standing over the bowl she began to cry as the water level rose. She knew, without a doubt, that she couldn’t believe a word Skeeter had said. The problem was that there was always some degree of truth to it. The story came from somewhere, from some small detail, and there was nothing good she could have taken and morphed into that story. It was all lies, she told herself. It had to be. 

The water in the bowl was reaching the rim when she heard someone behind her. “If you’re trying to flood it, it helps if you hold the handle down,” Myrtle advised. “Did your boyfriend dump you?” she asked looking at Hermione’s red eyes.

“No,” Hermione wished it was that simple. “Myrtle, you remember a lot that has happened over the years here at the school. Right?”

“I remember a lot of things. I’m quite smart in spite of what some of you think,” she snipped.

Hermione apologized, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insinuate you weren’t. I was just wondering if you could tell me what you knew about the article in the paper this morning.”

“Oh! I suspect many of you want to know about that,” Myrtle crossed her arms over her chest. “I remember Professor Snape taking a vacation once, but I never heard any of the rest of that garbage. It doesn’t sound like him to me.”

Of course. The two week absence could have been the one thing she used to imagine the story. “So Professor Snape wasn’t suspended. He was on vacation?” Hermione asked to clarify. 

“I think so. That’s what Dumbledore announce the morning after he left. No reason to believe otherwise,” she said.

Dumbledore. Was the vacation story how he covered it up? “Myrtle, do the portraits get moved around much?”

“No. Not unless they ask to be. Too much noise, not getting along with the others near them, that sort of thing,” Myrtle said. 

“Thanks,” Hermione said as she darted out of the bathroom. She only had twenty minutes before her first class started, but it was charms on the fourth floor. Rushing past the few groups of students she saw, she took the stirs down to the third floor in search of the portrait of Merwyn the Malicious. He was the only portrait on that floor. Trying to catch her breath, she double checked to make sure no one was listening in as she approached the grumpy looking wizard in the painting. “Merwyn, were you here on the third floor fifteen years ago?”

“Sure was. Why do you ask?” he eyed her suspiciously.

“The paper reported an attack that happened fifteen years ago involving Professor Snape. Is it true?” Hermione asked him, wanting desperately to hear that it was rubbish. 

The wizard frowned at her. “I heard a bit of a ruckus, but that was all. I don’t know nothin’ else. Violet. She’s the one who saw the whole thing. If portraits were allowed to testify, I’m sure there would have been a trial,” he shook his head. Hermione’s heart sank. “After that, Violet asked to be moved. She’s in a quiet chamber off the Great Hall. If you wanna know what happen’ you should ask her. Don’t know if she’ll want to talk about it though. Hasn’t spoken a word of it since it happened.”

Crushed, Hermione thanked Merwyn for his information and walked up to her charms class. She would definitely talk to Violet, but she had a feeling it wasn’t going to go well. It sounded like she had been scarred by what she had seen. That only left one other option. Flich. She couldn’t risk it, though. She couldn’t just go running around the school asking about Severus.


	17. A Hand Full Of Nuts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope there aren't too many mistakes/ typos. I tried to get it done early because I feel badly about the way I left the last chapter. Hope you'll forgive me.  
> Same warning applies for this chapter

Severus stood outside the gates of Malfoy manor with his coat wrapped tightly around him. The wind had picked up and was biting at his exposed skin. As Lucius approached, he lowered the wards leaving the two men standing face to face. “Why are you doing this, Lucius?”

“Why am I doing this?” the other man repeated. “Because you destroyed my life.”

“Lucius-” Severus started.

“Don’t. I don’t want to hear it. You’ve done nothing but lie to me for years,” the blonde man shook his head.

“Tell me how I destroyed your life!” Severus demanded. “How did the demise of the madman who had your family in a death grip ruin your life?”

“Narcissa left because of you,” he said seriously. 

Severus didn’t understand. “What the hell are you talking about?” When Lucius shook his head with a sneer, Severus asked, “Can we go inside? Don’t you think it’s a bit tasteless to argue on your front lawn? What if someone sees?” It was an easy button to push, so Severus jumped at the chance. The other man turned around and headed back up the courtyard to the large front doors of his home. Severus took that as his invitation to follow him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

It was finally lunchtime, and Hermione went the back way around the Great Hall to sneak into the chamber where Merwyn said Violet’s portrait was hanging. Filch wasn’t really an option, so she really had to give it her best at getting Violet to open up to her. She set her book bag down on the floor a little ways away from the portrait who appeared to be sleeping. 

A young woman with long blonde curls cascading down around her waist was sitting on a blanket. Her back rested against the tree behind her, and the book she’d been reading had fallen down next to her, its pages crinkled slightly. “Excuse me,” Hermione said quietly. She didn’t want to frighten the woman, especially since she knew she had asked to be moved here to get peace. “Violet?” 

The woman in the portrait stirred. Stretching her arms high above her head, she yawned. As she brought the back of her hand down to cover her open mouth, she noticed Hermione standing in front of her. “Oh! I didn’t see you there. I must’ve dozed off,” Violet said as she reached for her book. 

“I’m Hermione Granger,” she introduced herself. That was usually the best place to start. She only hoped that Violet hasn’t already formed a bad opinion of her. 

“The one everyone’s been talking about for the last few months?” she asked tilting her head and leaning forward to get a better look at her.

Grimacing, Hermione answered, “Unfortunately. Have you heard about the article that was in the paper this morning by any chance?”

“No. Been here all morning,” Violet smiled. “I’m at the part where Jeffrey is about to ask Maryanne to the ball.”

Not familiar with the story, Hermione replied, “I get caught up in books too. Used to get made fun of for it, actually.” She offered her a small smile, even though it was the last thing she felt like doing. There was nothing happy about what was going on right now. 

The woman shook her head in disgust. “It’s because you’re a woman. It’s always been like that. Those men, wizards and muggles,” she waved a finger at Hermione, “have always felt threatened by intelligent women like us.”

Hermione smiled at her more sincerely this time. “Yes. That’s still true. I’m afraid. The story in the paper this morning described an incident that happened here at Hogwarts a while back.” She was getting nervous now. She didn’t want to approach the topic the wrong way, and she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know what Violet had to say. “About a teacher attacking a student.”

Violet frowned down at Hermione. “Oh. Was it that Quirrell man? I heard all about that. How awful for the poor boy. He was your friend, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Harry is my good friend. Yes,” Hermione said. “But that’s not what the article was about. It was about what happened on the third floor. Fifteen years ago I think I read.”

Violet’s smile faltered. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Malfoy tinkered with the bottle of brandy and a couple of glasses with his back to Severus who was sitting in an overlarge armchair by a slowly burning fire. “Lucius, I don’t know what I did or how I can make it up to you, so you’re going to have to just tell me.”

The cubes of ice clinked against the crystal as Lucius dropped them into the honeyed liquid. “Do you know what Cissy said to me before she left?” he asked as he walked over to the fireplace and handed Severus the glass of brandy. 

Severus shook his head. “No. I haven’t a clue,” he admitted. He really was in the dark. 

He sat down and crossed his legs. Picking at an invisible piece of lint, he said, “She said she married the wrong one.” What did that even mean? “She said she married the one that was all flash and no substance. She said I’d never love her the way you loved that…trash.” Severus lip curled instinctively. “She said I was a coward. Did you know she had it in her head that I would be able to break into the school and murder that old man myself?” He set his glass down on the table and leaned forward toward Severus. “I understood she was distraught, but she wasn’t being rational. There was no way I could have pulled that off. She wouldn’t listen to me. That’s when she came to you.”

“I didn’t know that,” Severus admitted. 

“Well, she resented me for not being there that night. She said if I had spent more time with Draco, if I had been a better father, he would have told me when it was going to happen. He would have included me. But he didn’t, and you walked away the hero. You left me being a piece of shit father in her eyes. And husband,” he explained. 

Severus wasn’t sure what to say to that. He had never considered she would have felt that way. Narcissa’s love for her son must have driven her completely bonkers. It was obvious why Lucius couldn’t just storm in and take Dumbledore out, but she did have a point about Draco leaving him out of the loop. Then again, Draco hadn’t told him either. The boy had foolishly been trying to prove himself. Severus lifted the glass to his lips but paused before taking a drink. Looking down into the amber liquid, he considered just how desperate Lucius might be.

Lucius snorted, “I bet she regretted everything she said to me after she read the paper this morning.”

Severus brought the laced brandy down to hold in his lap, his thumb rubbing over the condensation. “I was surprised how far you took this all. Umbridge was one thing, but Braxton? Did you know about it before she published that article?”

“That wasn’t me,” he said seriously. “Umbridge was all me. None of the rest of it, though. Do you really think I would hire an armature to make those drawings? Please…. You’ve ruined yourself. If you hadn’t been hiding anything, Umbridge wouldn’t have mattered. She wouldn’t have come across the records of your misdeeds.”

“That’s fair,” said Severus. 

“So it’s true, then? About the student? Braxton, did you say the name was?” Lucius gave him a look he’d never seen from the man before. It was beyond disappointment, and it was crushing coming from an old friend. 

“I didn’t deny it then, and I won’t deny it now. But you have to know that she took what she wanted from that report and left behind everything else,” he told him. Severus wasn’t trying to excuse his behavior, but Skeeter intentionally misled everyone. 

Lucius picked his glass back up and raised it to him. “You’re the best liar I’ve ever met, Severus. I don’t want to hear it if you’re not willing to be honest with me.”

Severus closed his eyes momentarily. “Lucius, please,” he pleaded.

“Drink it, or get out,” he insisted. 

Severus picked up the glass of brandy spiked with veritaserum. This could end very badly. But maybe if he got Lucius to trust him again, he’d call off Umbridge, making Hermione’s life easier. The question was: did he trust Lucius not to make thing worse?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Violet’s smile faltered. “There was an article in the paper about that? From fifteen years ago?” Hermione nodded. “Better late than never, I suppose. Not something I like to think of.”

“I understand,” Hermione told her. “I was just hoping it wasn’t true- what happened to that girl.”

Violet shuddered. “It’s true. Bastard got away with it too. Dumbledore said I needed to keep to myself about it. Said he didn’t want it going around the school. Something about lack of evidence, and the girl not willing to make accusations. Accusations,” she spat. “I saw the whole thing. She was just scared, which you would have been too. She probably thought it was her fault, or too worried about what everyone was going to say about her.”

Hermione felt sick. “Well, you’ll be happy to know that he’s gone. The Minister escorted him out last night.”

“Who?” Violet asked.

“Professor Snape,” she replied. The name tasted so foul all of the sudden. 

Violet stood up and walked to the foreground of her frame. “What do you mean, they escorted him out? That’s so bloody typical,” she said crossing her arms over her chest. “Why is it that they’re always focused on the wrong thing when it comes to women being violated? It’s bloody absurd! Dumbledore’s gone now, and I’m not afraid to tell anyone what I saw.” Violet looked outraged, and it really threw Hermione for a loop.

“Tell me, then. Tell me what happened?” she said. What did that mean, they were focused on the wrong thing? 

“It was after curfew. The two of them snuck into the corridor. They were whispering. I heard a few giggles, and then…the girl told him to stop,” Violet explained.

“And then?” Hermione questioned. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“When I saw the Gryffindor Head Boy, I lost it. I wanted to kill him, and I may have if Argus hadn’t come by,” Severus explained. “I threw him into the wall and grabbed him by the balls. Nearly choked him to death. I told him if I ever saw him near her again I’d rip them off and feed them to him in the Great Hall.” Severus stared down into his drink as he finished telling Lucius what he said to the boy. “I asked him if he like watching a helpless person struggle in terror at his touch, and then I threatened to show him what it felt like to be the helpless one.” Severus downed the last of his drink and set it down on the coffee table. 

Lucius looked annoyed. Very annoyed. “You see! This is why I hate you. Why is it that you always get to play the hero?” Severus rolled his eyes at his old friend. “How the hell did it all get covered up anyway?” he asked.

Sitting back in the chair Severus explained, “Dumbledore called both the students parents to the school. The girl’s parents wanted to press charges against the boy, but the girl wouldn’t collaborate on my story…or his, for that matter. The boy’s parents wanted to press charges against me until when they learned the girl their son was caught with was one of my first year Slytherins. Because the girl wouldn’t talk, and there was no other evidence aside from each of our stories, we eventually came to agree on a course of action. The boy was suspended for two weeks, as was I. Dumbledore agreed to keep all the records of the incident in case the girl changed her mind at some point and wanted to press charges against him.”

Severus was growing irritated recalling it all. “No one was really happy with the outcome, except perhaps the boy. Not that he should be considered as such. He was seventeen. That’s why the statute of limitations has run out. He wasn’t a child. I assaulted an adult. He assaulted a child. But that bitch Skeeter left just the right things out to make it look even worse. I expected it to be printed, but I didn’t know she was going to make it look the way she did.”

“That,” Lucius said as he stood up. “is a fucked up story.”

“Tell me about it,” Severus agreed. He lifted his glass when Lucius offered another drink. 

Lucius changed the subject. “So the Granger girl…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do no think any kind of violence is acceptable. What he did was wrong, and he knows it. That's why he never denied it. He could have stopped the situation without attacking the student, but he made a mistake in letting his anger take over.


	18. Friend Or Foe

Lucius changed the subject. “So the Granger girl…”

“I would rather we didn’t discuss her,” Severus interjected. It was worth a shot.

“I’m sure you would,” Lucius smiled slyly. “Is it true? Are you sleeping with her? Your student,” he emphasized.

“N-yes,” Severus was forced to admit because of the damn veritaserum. “I wasn’t, though. When Skeeter published that first article, she made it all up.”

Sitting back down with his refreshed drink, Lucius commented, “How intriguing. This is going to be a better story than I thought. How did you end up having an affair with Harry Potter’s best friend?”

Severus knew when he drank the brandy with the potion in it that this conversation was inevitable, but it didn’t make it any easier. Was he about to put the nails in his own coffin? Hermione’s? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione was distracted throughout her afternoon classes. The whole thing was a lot to process. Almost too much. While she was relieved to learn the truth from Violet, she still wasn’t sure how to deal with it all. Had McGonagall tried to convince Shacklebolt to let Severus stay? Did she even know the truth? Hermione struggled with the desperate urge to tell everyone what happened, but she couldn’t. Her running around talking about him was likely to make the situation worse, even if people believed her. After classes ended, Hermione found herself waiting outside of McGonagall’s office. She needed to talk to someone, and she hoped that her former head of house would be able to help. 

After she started to explain talking to Violet, McGonagall stopped her. “Miss Granger, Professor Snape came to me on Saturday evening. I am aware of his side of the story.”

“His side?” she echoed. 

“Yes. There is no proof to collaborate his version of what happened. And portrait’s testimony are seen by the Wizengamot as circumstantial evidence,” she explained. “The Minister explained it all very clearly before they went to retrieve Professor Snape from his quarters. It was handled appropriately.”

“But what about the document Skeeter got it all from? If it was good enough proof to have him removed from the school, it should be good enough to verify his story,” Hermione argued. 

The Headmistress frowned and looked as though she were considering something. “Hermione,” she started, apparently having decided to address her casually. “The only relevant document the Ministry has is an account of Professor Snape assaulting that boy. I DO believe he was acting in defense of that child, but,” she threw her hands up, “there is no proof of it. There’s no mention of her anywhere in it. There IS proof of him attacking a student, however. And that IS grounds for termination.” Hermione’s jaw dropped. “I understand how you feel. I do, but I cannot keep a staff member who has a history of violence against students. If I hadn’t let him go, the Ministry would have deemed me unfit to run the school and replaced me with someone else who would be more than happy to terminate his employment.”

“The girl wasn’t mentioned anywhere? So…IF that’s true, the only thing Skeeter manipulated was the gender of the student Professor Snape assaulted?” Hermione asked. She found that hard to believe. Skeeter using only one spin, one trick? 

“Yes. It was disgustingly deceptive to mislead everyone the way she did about the age and gender of the victim, but nothing in the article was false. Skeeter turned over the document to the Minister late Sunday evening, allegedly right after she first read of the attack. She handed over Professor Snape’s entire employee file,” McGonagall told her. “I saw a copy of the document. It was incredibly vague about what led to the incident and what was said between them. Just like Skeeter’s article.” 

What? “Maybe she altered the document before she gave it to him,” she said. She just couldn’t believe it. 

“Skeeter commit forgery? For what purpose, Hermione? Even if the whole story were in the file and published in the paper, he still would have been terminated. You’re assuming the account of the girl’s involvement was in the file to begin with. It’s a reasonable assumption, but there’s no proof that it was or that it ever even existed.” McGonagall took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes. 

She did have a point, as much as Hermione hated to admit it. Why would Skeeter go to all the trouble just to get the same result? If the document did originally include the girl being attacked, and it wasn’t in the file Smith gave to Skeeter, who took it? Did Smith tamper with the file? Had someone else already beaten him to it? That led her to question why Skeeter was willing to pay so much for those files to begin with. Their files could have been useless. Hers was useless. Did someone tip her off that there was something in there that she would want to see? If so, that was likely the person who has the original document. It couldn’t have been Smith. Skeeter said she asked him for the files, and that’s the reason he stole them.  
.  
“I know it’s been a difficult semester for the both of you with Skeeter and the drawings, but you’ve got to let this go. This is Professor Snape’s problem, and you don’t have to deal with it. Perhaps now that he’s gone, you won’t have to deal with more gossip. And maybe Dolores Umbridge will be out of our hair soon,” the Headmistress said.

Hermione had no choice but to agree to see her point. She couldn’t let on anymore than she already had that she had any personal interest in his life. Feeling defeated, Hermione headed to the library. She knew Skeeter was far from innocent, but maybe she wasn’t the ring leader of it all. The missing document and corresponding article point toward Skeeter being the accomplice rather than having one of her own. Had they been wrong from the beginning? Was Skeeter the one doing the dirty work? While realizing that new insight should have lifted her spirits because she might be looking in the right direction, she still felt directionless. 

If McGonagall learned about the document from the Minister right before they went to get Severus, maybe he didn’t even know the other part of the story was missing. She wished she had a way to talk to him. The key would take so long to have a conversation through. She wasn’t even sure it would work with him being so far away. Hermione was just outside the library when Marietta stopped her in the hall interrupting her thoughts. 

“Hey, um,” the girl looked around to make sure no one heard her. “I just wanted to say sorry for saying…what I said about you. I only said it because Ginny was listening in on our conversation. I wouldn’t have if- well, if I had thought that Snape might actually be…you know. Hurting you. Anyway, I’m sorry.”

“Thanks?” Hermione responded, not entirely sure it was deserved. The girl nodded and went on her way. Unsure of how she felt about Marietta’s apology, she told Ginny and Luna about it when she caught up with them in the library. 

“I don’t care. She’s still a bitch,” Ginny said. “But you’re right. It probably isn’t her.”

Luna chimed in. “Did you ever consider someone was making those drawings to get you two to notice each other. Maybe after the article came out, someone thought they were playing cupid.” Hermione gave her a look that most people would interpret as overt annoyance. “I think you’d make a cute couple. You’re both smart, stubborn, and closed off to things that can’t be proven.”

“Thank you, Luna,” Hermione said bitterly. “but that’s not helpful.” 

“You did look like you were enjoying yourself in those drawings,” Ginny said wiggling her eyebrows.

Hermione glared at her and tried to get started on some of her homework. Luna and Ginny left after two hours, and she was one of the few people still studying as dinner drew nearer. Hearing a sniffling sound, Hermione looked up. She was surprised to find herself alone. Knowing someone must be at one of the tables around the corner, she got up to see if they were okay. 

Dennis Creevey was sitting alone with his back to her. He appeared to be hunched over a piece of paper. Knowing it may not be a good idea to approach him, as she wasn’t sure what exactly was going on with him and if he had anything to do with all the drama in her life, she hesitated before giving in to her natural instinct to comfort a crying person. As Hermione pulled on the chair next to him, the sudden movement startled him, and he quickly shut his notebook.

“What do you want, Granger?” he barked at her with red rimmed eyes. 

She answered, “I just wanted to see if you were okay, Dennis.”

“What do you care?” he asked defensively. 

“We’re both Gryffindors,” she said. He rolled his eyes at her. “Look, I just wanted to let you know that I liked your brother. I thought he was nice,” she offered him a small smile. “If you ever want to talk, I’m a good listener.”

Dennis turned his body away from her slightly. “I’m fine,” said indifferently. Hermione sat there for a few moments wondering just how much his life had changed since he lost his brother. George was devastated, and he had other siblings to go to for comfort. Dennis had no one. “I miss him. A lot sometimes,” he said whipping his eyes with the cuffs of his sleeves. “Drawing helps,” he admitted while flipping his notebook back open. 

Hermione was wary of what he was about to show her, but looked at him skeptically when she saw a drawing of a rather scary clown. 

“We’re muggleborn too. You probably know that. Anyway, horror movies were his favorite. He was always asking me to draw him zombies, werewolves…stuff like that,” he told her. “That’s not for me though. He made watch one with him when I was seven…I slept in my parents bed for a month after that,” he laughed. “Drawing it is one thing, but I just don’t like it when things jump out from nowhere. You know?” Dennis laughed. “He would tell me that if I wanted to be in Gryffindor I would have to get over it. He was wrong about that as it turns out.” 

Hermione laughed. “You’re really good,” she remarked looking at the half finished sketch. “Are you parents encouraging you to pursue art after school?”

The boy looked uncomfortable. “Not very encouraging about anything lately. They didn’t want me to come back to school this year. They don’t trust magic after what happened. I had to fight with them to let me finish school; although, I don’t know why they care. Sometimes I feel like they think they lost both of us. Like they forget that I’m still here or something.”

~~~~~~~~~ 

“You, my friend, are an idiot,” Lucius said.

“I know,” Severus conceded. 

Shaking his head Lucius asked, “Are you sure you weren’t trying to get fired? No one would blame you for wanting to leave that hell hole.”

“I’m sure,” he insisted. “So are you going to call off Umbridge or not? There’s no need for her keep making Granger’s life hell,” Severus explained.

Lucius deliberated. “Will you talk to Cissy for me? Explain to her why I couldn’t do what she wanted me to. Please?” When Severus agreed, Lucius scribbled a note and sent it out by owl. “So who do you think is doing this to you?”

“I don’t know. I’ve made so many enemies along the way,” Severus reflected back. All the way back. “All I know is that it’s personal somehow.”

“I agree. Are there any of our brother’s that you’ve crossed on a personal level, more so than the rest of us?” he asked. 

“No. And there are none that I even considered a friend, except for you,” Severus told him. 

Standing up, Lucius rubbed his chin as he walked back and forth in front of the fireplace. “Recently. You mean recently.” He looked at Severus. “What if this isn’t about something that happened during the war? What if it’s someone you crossed a long time ago?”

“But why wait until now to get revenge?” he asked Lucius. 

Shaking his finger at him, he explained, “Because you belonged to the Dark Lord. None of us would have come after you while you were standing by his side. It would just be suicide, but with the Dark Lord gone, they don’t have to worry about that.” 

Severus had to agree that the theory made sense, but who would be holding a grudge against him for something that happened…he wasn’t sure when. Back when this all started, when the Dark Lord was just starting to recruit school aged boys, he had been friends with several of the Death Eaters he worked beside as an adult. He had pulled away from all of them though, one or two at a time until there were none left but Lucius. 

It started with his best friend, Avery. After Lily refused to speak to him ever again in his fifth year, he walked around sullen for weeks. Avery got sick of it and said he needed to get over that filthy mudblood whore. He was so raw from the loss that he nearly killed the boy. He sent a severing hex right by his neck as a warning. It was a damn good thing he hadn’t missed his mark, or he would have been a murderer at 15. Severus was sure Avery felt betrayed, but what did it matter now? Avery was dead. He had apparently been taken out by an order member during the battle, though he wasn’t sure which one. “Avery,” he said turning to Lucius. 

“Avery is dead, Severus” Lucius pointed out.

Severus shook his head, “No. His son,” he said softly. “He…He lost his father. Maybe he blames me for turning my back on him or even the loss of the war.” Severus ran a hand through his hair. “A while back, he made a dig at both of us, not just her. I don’t know if he’s behind it, but I need to warn her.”

“Well, you can’t contact her. You’ve already dug half of your grave!” Lucius reminded him. “Draco. Send her a message through him. He’ll deliver it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Granger! Wait up!” Draco shouted across the entrance hall. 

She didn’t care if Severus insisted he and his father had nothing to do with it, she still didn’t trust them, didn’t like them. “What is it, Malfoy?” she asked feeling irritated. It had been a long day, and she just wanted to go to bed. 

“You ought to be nice to me. I’m doing you a favor here,” he huffed. “I’ve got a note for you.” Hermione looked down at the letter he was holding out to her. She grabbed it and flipped it over. It was addressed to her in Severus’ handwriting. “Let me know if you want me to send one back. And you’re welcome, by the way,” he said before turning back and walking away from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who is questioning by decision to make Hermione forgive what Snape did so easily, I based it on the fact that she (along with the boys) routinely broke the rules and sometimes laws 'for the greater good'. She didn't think it was right for him to do that, but she wasn't going to hold it against him either.


	19. Streetwise Hercules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from Holding Out for a Hero (Bonnie Tyler) "Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?"

Hermione hurried to her room. She needed privacy to read the letter. Could she trust that it was actually from him? She didn’t know, but she wanted to know what it said regardless. Once in her room she opened the letter. It read:

Hermione,

I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk to you before I left. I’m sure you are upset about what you read in the paper. You have every right to be. Skeeter left a lot out of the story. There’s a portrait of a woman named Violet somewhere in the castle that was hanging on the wall where the incident happened that night. Find her. Ask her to tell you what happened. 

Lucius has agreed to get Umbridge out of the school, so hopefully you won’t have to worry about her anymore. Hermione, I’m worried that Mr. Avery has something to do with the drawings and getting information to Skeeter. As much as it pains me to admit, I was friends with the boy’s father while we were young. Avery was killed in battle by an order member, and I’m worried that may be the reason for all of this. Be careful around him. If it’s him, his problem is with me, but don’t forget he’s also a blood supremacist. I’ll send Minerva a letter about him, but please just stay away from him. 

S.S.

She was pretty confident that Malfoy hadn’t been trying to trick her. How would he know about Violet? Severus thought Avery was behind it. Hadn’t he told her that he had fought with his father and got in a bit of trouble for it? If they had been friends, what was the fight about? After writing a brief note to him explaining that she already talked with Violet, she explained what she learned about the file from McGonagall. 

The next day, Hermione felt on edge having to sit in class with Avery. Not wanting to draw his attention, she had to fight to keep form glancing over at him. He wasn’t stupid by any means, but was he smart enough to have pulled it all off? With Professor Snape gone, Hermione found it hard to concentrate on her cauldron. It wasn’t right not having him in class. Flitwick had been filling in, and he said that next week Professor Slughorn was going to return to finish out the semester. When someone asked if he was going to be teaching next term, Flitwick said he wasn’t sure yet, but he was sure that potions wasn’t going to be canceled, much to the boy’s chagrin. Hermione slipped the letter for Severus to Draco while leaving potions class and hurried to catch up with Ginny. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Severus?” Narcissa said surprised to see him. “Please come it,” she greeted as she stepped back out of the doorway. 

“Thank you,” he responded. “You look good. How have you been?” he asked as he walked in and followed her into the living room.

“Good, but- the article in the paper, it can’t be true,” she said as she handed him a bottle of wine to open while she grabbed the glasses.

Severus took the next half hour to explain what happened and how he was removed from the school. That’s where Lucius entered the story for him. He wasn’t sure how she would take it if he brought him up, but he had to. “So I went to Lucius. I thought maybe he was the one who was doing it.”

“Lucius?” she asked. “Why would he be determined to ruin you? You protected his son. And you’re the reason we didn’t have to keep play host to that madman and his filthy cronies.”

Pouring the wine, he said, “He’s angry with me because I was able to do what he wasn’t. It’s not fair though.” Narcissa sat down on the couch across from him and took a sip of her wine. Her gaze had wandered over toward the fireplace. “There was no possible way he could have gotten to Dumbledore. Even when it came down to that damn cabinet, I was going to be the one to do it. It was planned. You know that. Now,” he added. 

“Severus, did Lucius send you here?” she asked him bluntly.

“Can’t I visit a friend when my life has gone to shit?” he asked her sadly. He had a point, after all. 

Setting her wine glass down, she said, “Of course, Severus. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I can see why you thought that, with him being so miserable and all,” he said before taking a drink.

She took the bait. “He’s miserable?”

“Of course he is. You were his life. I mean, he loves his son, but Draco is going to go off on his own soon. Get married. Have kids. And then you two will be like newlyweds again. Well, I suppose not now, but I can understand why he’s so devastated. He probably imagined growing old with you. Traveling. Watching your grandchildren grow up and getting to tell Draco he behaved just as badly for the two of you,” he joked. 

Fuck. This was NOT his specialty. He had never considered himself to be a family man. Families like the Malfoys only existed in fairy tales when he was younger, or so he thought. She was too quiet, so he admitted, “I often envied you two. No matter what, you were always there for each other. I’ve never had that. I think most people never find that.” Severus changed the subject. “Before I left, Draco was excelling. Not that it should surprise you. Have you any idea what careers he’s looking into?”

“He said he was considering the ministry. Professor Brown inspired him to look into the department of International Magical Cooperation. He told Draco he had a way with words, which he definitely gets from his father, and he would get to travel all over the world. Of course, Draco sees it as an all expenses paid vacation where he’s paid to socialize. Who knows? Maybe it is like that,” Narcissa said. “The guy is alright for a Gryffindor.”

Severus hadn’t thought about the fact that Darvin Brown was probably at school with Lucius while he was a younger student. “Do you know him?”

“Darvin Brown?” Narcissa asked. Severus nodded. “Of course. He was a few years ahead of us. One year, the Gryffindor Head boy was,” she shook her head. “Far worse than normal. Anyway, he was teasing me in the courtyard one day just for the fun of it. Darvin came over and told the boy to leave me alone. They argued, and then Darvin punched him in the eye. The head boy of his own house. Over a second year Slytherin girl, if you can believe it. Like I said, he’s alright. I was please when I found out he was going to be teaching because I knew he wasn’t going to play favorites and leave Draco at a disadvantage.” Narcissa laughed. “I’d say he should have been in Hufflepuff, but punching a kid twice his size was proof he was in the right house.” Narcissa cringed as she said, “He took quite pounding for it too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The very next day, Umbridge was gone. Of course she couldn’t just leave it alone that she’d been dismissed from her job of investigating the situation further. She had to have given Skeeter an interview the very next day because two days after she left, Skeeter published an article about what Umbridge had observed at the school. It was horrendous. She slammed nearly every staff member and accused McGonagall of turning a blind eye. 

That same day Hermione sent Harry a letter. She knew Ginny was probably keeping him up to speed, but wanted to make sure he heard exactly what Violet had told her. Harry had come to idealize Snape after the war, even if he didn’t want to admit it. He might have been devastated after reading the article in the paper, even though it came from Skeeter. Although it was possible that he went straight to denying it. Harry was always like that, jumping to conclusions in favor of one person’s side based on his relationship to them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

When Severus returned home from visiting Narcissa, he had a letter from Draco waiting for him. He opened it immediately and was relieved to see there was a letter from Hermione inside of it. It read:

Severus, 

If you are reading this, you were right about Malfoy. I had already spoken to Violet by the time I had gotten your letter. Merwyn told me Violet saw what happened and where to find her. I’m so sorry this happened, Severus. If I had known, I never would have let Skeeter out the door with those files. Speaking of which, McGonagall told me that Shacklebolt showed her the document you signed. He has your whole employee file, but if there was a document of what happened to the girl and why you did what you did, it’s gone. She said there was no mention of the girl on any of the paperwork. She said it was a brief description of what happened between you and that boy, but nothing specific, nothing that explains what happened. McGonagall said Shacklebolt explained it all before they went to get you, so I wasn’t sure if you knew about it.

Hermione

Severus crumpled the letter from Hermione and growled as he threw it into the fire. Tears prickled his eyes as he climbed up the stairs. Hoping a shower would help, he stripped in the bathroom, but his reflection caught him by surprise. He looked how he felt. Completely hopeless. He no longer had faith that he and Hermione could figure it out. The truth was simple, yet painful. They needed help. 

~~~~~~~~~ 

With just two weeks left of the semester, Hermione was looking forward to getting out of the school. She had every intention on visiting Severus regardless of how it would look if they were caught. What was the worst that could happen if they were? His reputation was already ruined. He’d already been fired. It was about what little dignity she had left at that point, and it was hers to do with as she pleased. 

Avery hadn’t looked in her direction once since Hermione got Severus’ letter. Was it because he was guilty and starting to worry about being caught? Had he slipped up somehow, and they just hadn’t figured out how yet? What if there was some way to restore Severus’ reputation, after all? Hermione thought about it for a few days before she came up with a plan. She just need help executing it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Someone was banging on Severus’ door, and he walked down the stairs fully intending on making them pay for it. He put on his most vicious sneer and yanked the door open. Of course. The one person that could make his life worse at the moment just had to come knocking. “Why are you here?”

“Can I come in, please?” Harry asked. 

“No,” Severus said bluntly.

Harry signed and said quietly, “Hermione told me what’s going on, and I’m worried for her. And you,” he threw in. “I want to help.”

Was the god he prayed to actually Satan?!? For fuck’s sake! Severus moved to allow the boy in and shut the door behind him with a snap. “What makes you think you can help?” he asked having no confidence in the boy’s ability to do so. 

“I dunno. I found a bunch of Horcruxes,” Harry sassed. 

“H-,” Severus caught himself before it was too late. “Miss Granger found a ‘bunch’ of Horcruxes,” he corrected him with air quotes to mock his vocabulary. “I know very well how you and that Weasley boy always took credit for work she did. You cannot fool me.” 

“Fine,” Harry said. “But you can’t deny that a fresh pair of eyes is useful. We can go over everything that’s happened, and maybe it will help form a bigger picture.”

The boy had a point. They were in way too far to see the forest at this point. They were in the middle of the damn woods trying to navigate a path riddled with snake pits and abandoned poacher’s traps with the goddamn paparazzi waiting for them to misstep. Groaning, Severus walked through the swinging door to the kitchen. The boy followed him, of course. Maybe if he made tea while he was talking to the boy, it would be easier to pretend he was talking to someone else. 

~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione stood outside the door to Professor Brown’s office after having knocked three times. She needed a new perspective, and after making a list of the people who might be the most helpful, he turned out to be at the top. She knew Severus’ opinion of him, and he had tried to help them when he caught them in his office. Being suspicious of everyone was getting to be a bit ridiculous. Throughout all of this, an extraordinary amount of paranoia blossomed. Lucius and Draco, Marietta, the elves, Smith, Creevey, Harry and Ginny but they don’t count. Then there were Peeves, Umbridge, and Skeeter. And now, Avery. Severus seemed worried about him, though. He hadn’t been worried for her safety with the others. 

Professor Brown had worked at the Ministry of Magic before he came to Hogwarts. He talked about it occasionally in class. After the majority of Death Eaters were rounded up, the Ministry found they had far too many employees in a couple of the departments because so many cases had been closed. Brown had been one of the few to volunteer to leave. He had a desk job before, and while his work was important, he didn’t get the satisfaction of seeing direct results, seeing he had actually made a difference. He said teaching offered him that. 

When the door opened, Professor Brown looked surprised to see her. “Miss Granger, what can I do for you?” It was outside of his office ours, but this wasn’t about school. 

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Hang on,” Harry interrupted him. “You said Hermione mentioned the elves?”

“Yes. Something about spew,” he said rolling his eyes. “I hardly think that’s a good enough reason, and if it was about attacking her character, why drag up all this from my past?”

Harry bit his lip as he thought about it. “I don’t know. But you know what?” Harry said as if he’d just had an epiphany. “The elves don’t show up on the map. I gave Hermione a map of the school.”

“I’m aware. I saw it. It certainly explains a lot,” Severus said with a look of disapproval. “I understand how that would seem important, but we are still back to why would they be doing this?”

“Maybe someone is using an elf to spy for them or distribute those pictures,” Harry argued.

“Are you deaf, Potter?” he snapped. “Why? Why would the elves or one of them being doing this? They have a duty to serve and protect the school.” 

“Dobby disobeyed Mr. Malfoy. I’m just saying it’s possible,” Harry told him. Severus shot him a look that warned of his withering patience. “Okay. We can come back to the elves later. When we started Dumbledore’s army, Smith seemed interested in it for the wrong reasons. He wanted to hear stories about what happened to Cedric. It was sort of creepy.”

“I’m almost certain it is Avery. He’s the only one I can think of that would have the motive. I just have nothing on him. There’s no evidence at all, let alone any that points to him,” Severus brought Avery up again. Potter was really starting to get on his nerves with all his wild theories. 

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“So if we can find the girl, maybe we can convince her to set the story straight,” Hermione finished explaining her plan to Professor Brown.

Instead of looking intrigued, he looked like he was about to tell Hermione her dog died. “Miss Granger, I understand you have good intentions, but…” he looked as though he wasn’t quite sure how to finish his thought. “Would you really do that to the girl? Go digging around in her past, violating her privacy and her right to move on however she wants, just to….to what? What is it that you think you’ll accomplish?” he asked her.

Hermione was disappointed she needed to argue her case further, “I understand that the girl might not want to talk about it, but shouldn’t we take that chance and find out? If she can help clear Professor Snape’s name, maybe he could-” 

Professor Brown interrupted her. “Could what? Return to the school? The girl’s story doesn’t change the fact that he attacked a student. Just between us, I would have done the same, but the fact is that he was fired for something he did do. As far as I know, there are no charges against him. How can the girl testify on his behalf if there is no trial, if there are no charges?”

He was right. She was so wrapped up in it all, in Severus and what someone had been doing to them for the last several months that she had lost her ability to analyze the situation logically with a critical eye. Hermione wiped her eyes and stared off into the corner of the room feeling defeated.

“Look. Professor Snape obviously knows who the girl is. If he wants to approach her about setting the public straight for the sake of his reputation, he will. Your best bet is to find the document you say is missing. If you do, you can withhold her name and still use the account of what happened,” he told her. 

“But, Sir, if we don’t know who’s doing this, we don’t know who has the file. It could be anywhere,” she explained. Surely he understood that. 

Professor Brown’s brow furrowed. “That’s true, but do you really think that something like this would only have one copy of the documents? If it did, and Professor Dumbledore wanted to keep it hidden, why would he keep the only copy in Professor Snape’s employment file where any number of people could find it…or apparently steal it? Don’t you think that it’s odd this wouldn’t be documented anywhere else? I’ll tell you what. I’ll keep my eyes open for any place files like that might be tucked away. My suggestion to you is: start with the library. They have loads of school records.”

 

“Okay,” Hermione accepted. “Thank you, Professor.” It wasn’t much, but at least they had one more person with their eyes open. She hoped he was right, and there was another copy of the report from that night.


	20. A New Perspective

“So will you at least, for one moment consider that either Avery OR Smith may have somehow talked one of the elves into helping him? Think of how easy it would be for an elf to spy on someone, distribute those drawings, take the files right out from under Madam Pomfrey’s nose?” Harry asked. 

Severus took a deep breath before he answered. “Potter, explain to me how that might happen, and I’ll consider it. How would you get an elf to do those things?” Harry’s mouth hung open for a moment. “That’s my point,” Severus said. 

“Well, wait. If I were to try to get one of them to do something like that, I would…blame Hermione for Dobby’s death or tell them she was at it again with freeing them all. Or if it was you, I would try to convince them that the school would be better off without you there because of what happened with Dumbledore or because you abandoned the school,” Harry tried.

Severus grimace with that last part. He’d had no choice but to leave. Was he supposed to have specifically instructed the elves to fight for the school? “Fine, but I still think you’re wrong.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione spent the rest of the week digging through every records book in the library she could get her hands on, but she hadn’t found anything. The last Tuesday before winter break, she sent Severus a letter through Draco explaining that she was looking for another copy of the missing document. She hoped he might have some idea where she should look because so far she wasn’t getting anywhere. While in the library on Wednesday evening after dinner, Ginny pulled out the chair next to her and sat down. 

“Hey,” Ginny said. “I need to talk to you for a minute.” 

“Sure,” Hermione said closing the large book that was starting to make her go cross-eyed. 

Ginny definitely looked like she had bad news. “Because of Ron and everything that’s gone on, my mum thinks it’s best if you don’t come over for Christmas,” she said sadly. “I’m so sorry, Hermione.”

Hermione hadn’t even thought about how she was going to spend Christmas yet. She had been too focused on finding that damn document. “Oh. It’s okay, Gin. I plan on spending it with my family. I’d rather not spend the day with Ron, anyway.” Hermione wasn’t surprised by Mrs. Weasley’s attitude. She had always thought Hermione wasn’t good enough for her son, as ridiculous as that was. Molly Weasley…No. She had already broken up with him when all of this started. Fuck. Now she was regressing to paranoia. 

Thursday afternoon Draco approached Hermione outside of the charms classroom to give her Severus’ reply. She was hopeful that he would point her in the right direction, but she couldn’t risk reading the note in class. As soon as her last class of the day was over, she headed toward the nearest restroom. Just as she was about to open the letter, she heard the door open and a couple of girls walked in. 

“Really?” one of them said.

The other responded, “Yeah, I guess he’s been crushing on her for a while now.”

“But…,” the first girl said, “Marietta’s so…funny looking.”

“Oh, I know. But Zach’s no prince charming. He’s sort of a tosser, so it’s a good thing for him he’s not hideous.”

“Anyway, now that they’re dating, maybe she won’t spend so much time gossiping about everyone else.”

So Smith had a thing for Marietta? Did that put him back into the mix? Would he really have gone to all this trouble to get her to notice him, or to get revenge FOR her? It was a nutty theory, but everything had become so crazy. Was it possible that he’s the one who tipped Skeeter off about the files anonymously? Could he have put himself in a position where she would ask him to steal them? He IS the only one she knew for sure had them before he handed them over to Skeeter. It was something to think about. Getting back to the note now that the pair of girls had left, Hermione read:

Hermione,

I appreciate the effort, but you needn’t look for it. That was the original document, and no copies were made. I convinced Dumbledore to let me have them because I wanted to protect them. I didn’t fully trust him not to get rid of the evidence that could cost him his spy, and I wanted to make sure they were there was for the girl if she ever came forward. Keeping them in my employment records may seem foolish, but they were protected and unseen for fifteen years. I was worried at the time that someone would find out I was spying and burn my house down or go through my rooms. I knew it would be preserved there, as the files are kept for many, many years after the employees leave before they are discarded. It was a safe place at the time. Obviously, I made a mistake in leaving it there for so long. 

S.S.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Friday was filled with testing, and tired-looking students snapped at each other between classes. Hermione felt confident that she was going to get top marks on all her tests, but she was failing miserably at helping Severus. By the end of the school day, everyone’s energy had picked up. It was finally winter break, and everyone was looking forward to it. The common room was especially loud after dinner, but she was able to escape in her room while packing up her trunk for the holidays. 

Wanting to let Professor Brown know that he could stop looking for the document, she headed toward his office in the hopes that he would be there. Along the way, she passed Smith walking Marietta to Ravenclaw tower with his arm around her shoulders, and she struggled with the urge to punch them both. After Hermione entered the defense against the dark arts classroom she realized she couldn’t tell Professor Brown what Severus had said. She hadn’t been thinking, and it was a good thing she caught herself before she told him they had been communicating. 

“Miss Granger,” he said looking up from his desk at her, apparently having been packing up some things himself. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I haven’t graded any of the tests yet,” he told her with a laugh. 

“Oh. No, Sir. I was just coming by to see if you found anything,” Hermione lied. 

Professor Brown sat down in his chair as Hermione walked up to him. “I’m afraid I haven’t. I looked through everything in the staff room, but it was all your typical school supplies. I did bring it up to Headmistress McGonagall, and she said she would look through the files Dumbledore left in the office, but I haven’t heard back from her yet. She also said she would talk to Dumbledore’s portrait.”

Maybe Severus was wrong, and Dumbledore did have another copy. He seemed pretty sure there wasn’t, though. Hermione picked up the bottle that was sitting on the desk next to a few other things Professor Brown was packing up. It was the wolfsbane potion Severus had made for Lavender for December’s full moon. The label was written in his handwriting with instructions to take it at a quarter to nine on the 26th. She smirked at the thought of Severus leaving Professor Lupin instructions to choke on it. 

Remus’ death had been quite hard on Harry. He deeply regretted not being able to spend more time with him and hear stories about his parent’s lives. It was all so unfair. Hermione had never really like Lavender, but she didn’t deserve what happened to her. At least she lived to see Greyback dead, which is more than she could say for Remus. She wasn’t sure if Dennis Creevey knew who killed his brother or how he felt about. Did he wish he could get revenge on whoever did it? And then there was Severus who was paying for something he did fifteen years ago while that boy who tried to rape that girl got away with it. Gods, she hoped he hadn’t gone on to victimize anyone else. The thought made her sick. What if he had?... What if he had?...If he had, and they learned of what happened before, maybe they blamed Severus for not making sure the bastard was sent to Azkaban! 

“Um-,” Professor Brown carefully took the bottle from Hermione’s hands. “Sorry. It’s just that it’s for a good friend of mine. It would be quite bad if it was spilled,” he explained. “Takes a month to brew.”

“Oh. I understand,” Hermione said shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“No. It’s alright. Only reason I have it is because Professor Snape’s the best potioneer around. It was no trouble for me to get it for my friend since I saw Severus every day. I suppose I should just send him the delivery address now that he’ gone. It will be easier for him to just send them himself,” he offered her a small smile. 

Gods, what if she was right? How awful would that be? How could she even tell Severus that she’d thought of that? Would he think that she thought it would be his fault if that student went on to hurt other girls? It made so much sense, though. Didn’t it? 

“Hey,” Professor Brown said, interrupting her thoughts. “It’s going to be okay. There’s always room for a little hope. Maybe the Headmistress will find something.”

She hadn’t realized she was probably making a worried face. “Yeah. You’re right. I still have to finish packing, so I should go. Thank you for looking and asking the Headmistress,” she said. “Happy Christmas, Professor.” 

Hermione continued thinking about that unresolved incident on the walk to her room. It was possible the original girl now blamed Severus for agreeing to keep quiet about it, even if she didn’t at the time. Could she have ties to someone in the school? She would know there was a record of the incident but not necessarily where it was. Maybe she tipped Skeeter off and got lucky. It was possible she used Smith to get the fliers around. That didn’t explain her relationship with Skeeter, though. Skeeter wasn’t above making deals with the devil, so to speak, to get a juicy story. She’d be easy to be bought with a good story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

After getting back to London on Saturday Hermione apparated to Grimmauld Place to spend the weekend with Harry. Ginny insisted that he wait to come to the Burrow until Monday and spend time with her since she was uninvited to Christmas with them and felt so guilty about it. “How have you been?” Hermione asked as she hugged him hello. 

“Good. Good,” he said. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you, but I went to see Professor Snape.”

Hermione looked at him like he was mad. “How’d that go?” she asked surprised that her friend had made it out of there alive. 

“Here,” he said taking her bag and leading her into the kitchen where so many order meetings were held. “It went alright, surprisingly enough. I wanted to let him know that I wanted to help. Being away from the school, there hasn’t been much I could think of to do, but when he was let go, I thought I would offer to help.”

Sitting down at the table while Harry fixed a pot of tea, she asked hopefully, “Were you able to come up with anything?”

“Erm, yeah, but that was part of the problem. There were too many things. With so little evidence, there’s nothing to narrow down the list of people who hate him. He’s too focused on that Avery prat if you ask me. I mean, I get what he was saying, but it seems implausible to me,” Harry confessed.

Taking the cup of tea he was handing her, she questioned, “How so?”

“Well, think about it. Avery’s dad would have to have told him about the fight they had and that they had been best friends. And it wasn’t like Snape turned his back on him recently, so why would his dad make a big enough fuss about it to make his son fixate on it? It happened so long ago that it doesn’t even seem relevant. I’m not sure if he’s capable of pulling something like this off either,” he explained.

“I suppose you have a point. What other possibilities did you discuss?” 

Harry cupped his mug between both of his hands and blew over his tea before he answered. “I don’t think you should rule out a house elf helping someone, even if none of it was their idea. They don’t show up on the map, Hermione,” he pointed out.

“Oh,” she said setting her cup down without taking a drink. “You’re right. I never thought of that. But I don’t know that it matters because I don’t think…” she trailed off. She was about to say she didn’t think anyone saw them. That would have been bad. “There wasn’t much that happened after I got the map from you, and even the thing with Smith taking the files… I wouldn’t have known to be watching the infirmary. Even if they did show up on the map, I wouldn’t thought anything of seeing them.”

Rubbing his chin, which had become a bit scruffy, he said, “What are your thoughts on Smith, anyway? I don’t trust.”

“Neither do I. He’s going out with Marietta now. I overheard someone saying he had a crush on her for a while. I thought it was suspicious that he stole the files, and he has a motive against me for her sake, even if it is crazy. But…then where does that leave Professor Snape? Why drag him into it?”

Hermione chewed on her lip for a few minutes before she said, “I suspected Dennis Creevey when I saw him drawing, but since I talked to him, I think he’s just having a hard time.”

“There was something that crossed my mind, but he was getting quite frustrated with me. Every time I threw out a theory, he said there was nothing to back it up. That’s why I didn’t say anything. I thought I’d wait and talk to you about it,” Harry said. His expression was hard to read.

“What’s that?” she asked. 

Harry hesitated before he said, “Look. You know how I feel about what he did for me. For all of us. I’m not saying he deserves what’s happened. It’s just that what if…I don’t know-”

“Spit it out already, Harry,” she said getting impatient. 

“What if all of this, the whole time, was about those documents and what happened?” he asked looking into his tea cup. “What if that WAS the endgame rather than someone just randomly finding it? They could have thrown us all off their tracks by making it look like it was about something else, like that first article. I mean, it’s all stopped now that that’s out. Hasn’t it?”

Technically, he was right. There were no attacks on either of their characters after the article came out, and he was removed from the school. “I had a similar thought, but I hadn’t realized the possibility that it could be strictly about exposing what happened. The girl’s story was missing though, so it still had to be about putting Professor Snape under the spotlight. I thought, if it was girl he protected, maybe she was trying to protect herself by removing any mention of her name,” she said.

“Why would the girl hold that against him?” Harry asked. 

“It’s possible she blamed him for letting the boy get away with it. It was just a thought, but it led me to thinking that if that boy later attacked someone else, the second victim could easily blame Professor Snape and Dumbledore for what happened to her because if he’d been sent to Azkaban the first time, it never would have happened,” she explained.

Harry scratched his head. “I could definitely see that being reason enough to be angry, but it’s quite complicated. Don’t you think? I can’t see the girl being the one behind all of this. Another victim makes more sense, but that would mean several specific things. One: the boy attacked someone else. Two: The girl he attacked later then found out about what happened before, which I’m not sure how that would happen. Three: the girl would have to be manipulating Skeeter. Four: she would have to have a collaborator in the school. And it would all to be to get to Snape,” Harry shook his head. “Why not just go after the guy who attacked her? And why make her attacker look like the victim?”

“Well, if the second victim was a current Hogwarts student that would eliminate the ally that was needed in the school. She could have made the fliers and taken the document before tipping Skeeter off. Skeeter paid Smith, but that doesn’t mean he had anything to do with the girl or any of the rest of it. He could just be a thief in exchange for a few galleons. Maybe the girl’s plan is to go after Professor Snape AND the person who attacked her,” Hermione held her hand up, so Harry wouldn’t interrupt her. “If she had gone after her attacker first, she wouldn’t have been able to make Professor Snape out to be the bad guy. She was probably counting on the truth coming out in an attempt to explain Professor Snape’s actions, and in that event, she wouldn’t even have to get her hands dirty exposing her attacker because Professor Snape would have done it for her.”

Harry sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “I just feel like we’re missing something that’s obvious. How is it possible that no one saw anything? That’s why I’m suspicious of the elves. They know exactly how to not be seen by anyone. They can get into any part of the school, including Pomfrey’s office. You know what?” he let his chair fall forward with a loud thump on the floor. “They might have known about the attack. Maybe one of them even saw what happened.” 

Hermione rubbed her face with her hands. “I don’t know. I didn’t even think to ask Violet if anyone else had come around asking questions.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione left Grimmauld Place feeling even further from figuring things out. Harry kept returning to the idea that a house elf had a hand in it, but every theory Harry came up with that involved one of them led to the question of why an elf would have it out for Severus. The days leading up to Christmas Eve were spent quietly relaxing at her parent’s house. She felt a bit badly about lying to them about going with Harry to stay at the Burrow on Christmas Eve, but she couldn’t tell them she was going to see Professor Snape. Knowing there was a chance he wouldn’t want her to stay, she planned on telling her parents Ron was being unbearable if she returned home sooner than she said she would. 

Christmas Eve was quiet. A light dusting of snow was coming down, but it was quite a bit heavier when she landed on Professor Snape’s doorstep. What if he wasn’t even home? What if he wasn’t happy to see her? What if he just shut the door in her face? Hermione looked down the street in both directions before knocking wondering if he had many visitors and what his neighbors would think if they saw her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have one more "fun" chapter for you. The next one is going to be called A Very Merry Christmas Eve ;) I’m curious to know who you guys think has done all of this and why. At this point, I think it’s possible to guess either who OR why but probably not both. Feel free to leave a guess in the comments!


	21. A Very Merry Christmas Eve

Severus opened the door and was stunned to see Hermione standing on his doorstep. He wasn’t sure what to say at first, but when she greeted him, he came to his senses and invited her inside. He hadn’t been expecting her, not that there was much he could do to make the place more appealing to her. Not that it mattered. “Shall I make tea, or are you just stopping by on your way…elsewhere?” he asked.

Hermione frowned. “I came to see you.” She stood in his living room looking at him with a sad smile. “Tea would be nice,” she finally answered. 

“Right. Make yourself at home,” he told her gesturing toward the couch. He had missed her over the last few weeks, but he had come to realize it was never meant to last. A young woman like Hermione didn’t need to be weighed down by anyone, let alone someone like him. Maybe if their paths crossed again somewhere down the road…He had to tell her, but he had no idea how she would take it. 

Severus walked into his kitchen. He honestly wasn’t sure how Hermione felt about everything that had happened. Maybe she had already decided she didn’t want to be with him. The few letters they exchanged had been more factual than anything else. When he came back into the living room, he found Hermione sitting on the couch reading the potion’s journal he’d left open on the coffee table. 

“How’ve you been?” he asked setting the tea down and walking around the table to sit next to her, wishing he knew what she was thinking. 

“Good. What have you been doing with all your free time now that you’re finally rid of all the ‘dunderheaded’ students?” Hermione inquired playfully. 

Leaning back against the couch, he replied, “Brewing mostly. There’s a lab in the basement. Closest thing to a dungeon I have.” 

Hermione laughed at him. “Is that what you’re going to do now? Brew potions for a living?”

“Most likely.” Severus felt conflicted. As much as he wanted to continue their affair, he knew he would be holding her back. 

“After you left, nothing else happened. It either really was all about you, or…they decided to walk away from it all after what they uncovered,” she said pouring some cream into her tea. 

Severus turned toward her. “That’s good. Maybe you can just move on now. It’s most likely over. At least for you,” he added with a smirk. “Hermione, I’m so sorry you were dragged into this.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she argued.

He nodded and looked into the fire. It was his fault, whether she wanted to see it or not. “You know we can’t keep,” he motioned between them. “It’s not going to be physically possible with you at school and me in Cokeworth,” he joked even though it hurt more than anything else. 

Hermione looked at him as though she were disappointed. Surely she knew he couldn’t come and visit her at the school. The one the Minister of Magic personally escorted him out of. “What about after I’ve finished school?”

“We can discuss it then if you wish,” he told her honestly, though he was pretty sure she was going to come to her senses and move on by then. 

Standing up and removing her scarf, Hermione suggested, “Well, since I’m here now, perhaps we should make the most of it.” Hadn’t he sort of just broken up with her? When she leaned down to kiss him, her hands landed high on his thighs. “Aren’t you going to show me around?” she asked with her head cocked to the side as she stood there looking at him. Severus Snape was damn near defenseless against a determined Hermione Granger. Who was he kidding? He was no expert, but he was pretty sure this is not how it was supposed to go. Was she some sort of relationship guru? 

Clearing his throat, Severus admitted his swift defeat and stood up. Taking her by the hand, he led her to the kitchen and then up the stairs. One of the two rooms, his parent’s old bedroom, had been converted into a study. Once they were in his bedroom, Hermione walked over to the foot of the bed and turned around to look at him. With her hands clasped behind her back, she stood there biting her lip, as if waiting for him to decide how he was going to ravage her.

His reluctance must have been obvious because she pouted and said, “It’s a Granger tradition to open a present on Christmas Eve. You wouldn’t want to ruin that, would you?”

Fuck. Walking the few steps up to her, he looked down into her sparkling eyes. Maybe there was a chance she would still want him when summer came around. It was a small chance, for sure, but perhaps he could allow himself to focus on that tonight. It sure seemed to be what she wanted from him…and he hadn’t gotten her anything for Christmas. Gods, what kind of tosser was he? It had been so long since he’d exchanged gifts with anyone, he hadn’t even considered it. Severus pulled his charcoal sweater over his head, leaving him in his white undershirt. He ghosted his knuckles up the buttons on her blouse, freeing each one he passed until he was stroking her bare neck with his long fingers. “Are you sure this is for the best?” he asked.

When she nodded he pushed her shirt back off of her shoulders and leaned down to kiss her neck. Hermione whimpered when he brought one hand up to squeeze her breast, while the other reached around to unclasp her bar. As she reached for the button on her jeans, her hand grazed his growing arousal causing him to growl before picking her up and tossing her back on the bed. Severus leaned on the end of the bed and unzipped her pants. Pulling roughly on the legs of her jeans made her inhale sharply. Severus looked up to her face as she lay there in only her panties. They were green with silver trim. They were a Christmas present for him. He was sure of it. The bra may have even matched. He had been too focused on getting it off of her to notice. And was she trying to tell him something by reacting to his aggression that way? “How do you want it, Miss Granger?” It was the least he could offer, all things considered. 

Mischief practically danced in her eyes. “However you want to give it to me. Professor,” she said, over annunciating his (former) title. 

Rough and kinky, apparently. He didn’t need to be told twice. Severus yanked her panties down her legs and rolled her over onto her stomach. He made quick work of stripping down to nothing as she strained to watching in the position he’d put her in. Severus grabbed her by the hips and lifted her up on her knees. 

~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione could feel his cock against her bum as he leaned over, pushing her shoulders back down on the mattress while her ass was in the air. Grabbing one of her wrists he twisted it behind her lower back and held it there as he smacked her ass hard. The stinging sensation caused her to writhe, but he tightened his grip as he rubbed the head of his cock against her wet core. “So this how you like it, Professor?” she asked him teasingly once she’d recovered from the slap. Hermione yelped as his hand came down sharply on her other ass cheek, but then a low moan rolled through her as he pushed the head of his cock into her. 

“Yes, Miss Granger. This…is how I like it,” he purred as he pushed into her further. Hermione let out a gasp as he pushed down onto her lower back and bucked forward, filling her completely. He started with a few long slow strokes and gradually peaked at an almost vicious rhythm. The harder he fucked her, the tighter his grip became. At some point he leaned over her and grabbed a handful of her hair at the scalp. She’d never been fucked this hard before; she’d never been fucked in this position before. The angle, the leverage, she didn’t know what it was, but it was phenomenal. Hermione could hardly hear his grunts over her load moaning. She couldn’t help it. He was pounding it out of her. 

Eventually he slowed. Hermione was struggling to catch her breath when he stopped and sat down behind her, his legs on either side of her. He turned her over, lifting one of her legs over him, so she was straddling him on the bed. Severus pulled her upright, so she was sitting facing him eye to eye and then lifted her bum and brought her back down on his cock. With both hands on her ass, he was able to pull her down onto his shaft forcefully. She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. With little choice, she hung on for dear life.

His hands squeezed her ass as he forced her up and then down on his member. His pubic bone abraded her clit roughly, and it caused her to rock her hips into him on the down thrust. Hermione’s orgasm rippled through them both. Her legs trembled against his thighs as her body tried to strangle his cock. 

“Fuck,” he growled as he tried to force her further down on him through her clenching. 

Not wanting to move, Hermione sat there on his lap running one hand up and down his clammy back. He had been right in saying they couldn’t really be together while she was still in school. It just wasn’t possible. It didn’t sound like he wanted to continue their relationship after either, but it was possible it was because he thought she wouldn’t want to. She knew with the way he was kissing her neck and holding her close to him even after he’d cum, that he did want her. He had to. She just hoped that he would still want her in another six months when she was free to do as she pleased.

~~~~~~~~~ 

“Happy Christmas,” Severus said climbing back into bed. He had apparently been up long enough to shower, as his hair was still damp and a towel was wrapped around his waist. 

Stretching and grinning at him, she replied, “Yes. It is a Happy Christmas.” Hermione rolled toward him and toyed with the silky hair on his chest. “I’m hungry,” she told him. 

“Let’s have breakfast then,” he suggested as if it were an ingenious idea. Severus rolled back out of bed and the towel fell to the floor. Hermione stared at his ass as he walked to his dresser. 

“You have the perfect ass,” she giggled. 

Severus tried to look at his behind over his shoulder. “I suppose you’re right. I do,” he smirked as he grabbed a pair of briefs from the drawer. Hermione lay there watching him dress while she thought about how hard it was going to be having to go back to Hogwarts knowing he wasn’t there. “Are you going to dress? Then again, if you’d rather eat naked, I’m not opposed to it,” he commented throw an eyebrow up at her. “I’ll get some tea started,” he said before he walked out of the room leaving her in his bed. 

Taking her time, she summoned her bag from downstairs. Still not fully awake, she lay there for several minutes thinking about the previous evening. She had brought a change of clothes with her, as she had every intention of staying over when she left her house last night. Once out of bed, Hermione dressed, washed her face, and brushed her teeth before heading downstairs. 

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Severus said excusing himself after setting their cups of tea on the table. 

Hermione sat down at the table and picked up the paper Severus had been reading while he was waiting for her. Hermione’s mouth dropped as she read the article at the bottom of the front page. 

“Hero or Villain?”: by Rita Skeeter 

Now, I know you must be asking yourselves, “Haven’t I read this already?” Well, let me assure you. You haven’t. While eight months ago, you were focused on Severus Snape’s actions throughout the war, this story may surprise you even more. I regret to inform you that I was misled with the information presented to me regarding Mr. Snape’s attack on one of his students almost fifteen years ago.

Just hours ago, Sandra Harris came forward to shed light on what happened that night when Mr. Snape committed the assault we recently learned of. Ms. Harris explains that on the night in question, she was caught by Jared Braxton, who was the 17 year old Gryffindor Head Boy at the time. Ms. Harris was a first year at the time, not yet twelve years old. Mr. Braxton allegedly used his power as Head Boy to convince her she owed him a favor if he were to let her off the hook for being out after hours. Mr. Braxton started by fondling her in the hallway. When it escalated, Ms. Harris told Mr. Braxton to stop. 

Mr. Snape must have heard the two of them because he appeared out of nowhere and pulled Mr. Braxton off of Ms. Harris. He then proceeded to threaten to remove the boy’s genitals if he ever touched the girl again. At least, that is what Mr. Snape confessed to. Mr. Harris ran off before the interaction between Mr. Snape and Mr. Braxton ended. 

I know you must be wondering why none of this got out to the press or the authorities. Albus Dumbledore brought Ms. Harris and her parents, Mr. Snape, and Mr. Braxton and his parents, (though they were never in the same room together) into his office for questioning. Mr. Snape was the only one of the three that was willing to confess to what happened. Mr. Braxton alleged that Mr. Snape assaulted him but refused to acknowledge that the girl had even been present. It’s understandable why Mr. Braxton denied his involvement with Ms. Harris, but Ms. Harris refused to talk about any of it. She refused to confirm or deny that Mr. Snape was acting in her defense. Now, fifteen years later, she gives us the reason: “I felt like it was my fault because I agreed to let him touch me. I was just scared of getting detention and my dad finding out. Professor Snape was so upset. I thought we were both going to be in trouble. I didn’t understand then that I didn’t do anything wrong or that Professor Snape wasn’t angry with me.”

The Ministry has already started the process of opening an investigation into Mr. Braxton’s involvement in the incident. Because the law states that a victim of child abuse has six years to come forward after turning twenty one years of age, the ministry can potentially still take Mr. Braxton to trial, as Ms. Harris will be turning twenty six in February, still within the statute of limitation. I assure you, you will get the latest information on the case from me as soon as I hear more. 

Severus came back into the kitchen just as Hermione was finishing the article. “Have you seen this?” she asked. 

“Yes,” he answered as he opened the door to the refrigerator to pull out some eggs. 

“I would think you’d be happy,” she stated, confused by his lack of response. 

He turned to look at her. “Have you forgotten that the only evidence there ever was, is missing?” he asked her. Hermione hadn’t thought of that yet. Severus turned his back to her again and started cracking the eggs. 

“That’s true, but now everyone knows you’re not the monster Skeeter made you out to be,” she argued.

Severus snapped at her. “It’s not about me!” He flung the egg yolk and whites off of his hand and into the sink after having crushed one of the eggs in his outburst. 

“I’m sorry,” Hermione said. Perhaps she really didn’t understand just how much it bothered him. 

“It’s not your fault,” he said as he scrambled the eggs in a bowl. “I never knew what happened that night because she wouldn’t tell us. You read it. There’s no way that Ms. Harris was the only girl he’d done that to, and she was probably not the last either,” he said angrily. “Whoever took those documents most likely destroyed them. All three of us signed a copy with our version of what happened. There was mine, of course with all that I heard and saw. I agreed to the suspension and the preservation of the documents incriminating both myself and Mr. Braxton. Mr. Braxton’s version is the one they left in the file for Skeeter, but it had to be tampered with or just straight up forged. Surely the Minister would have been suspicious of him agreeing to be suspended for two weeks for his own attack,” he explained. “The paper the girl signed was a recount of both of our stories since she wouldn’t say a word. She signed it, but I’m sure her parents pushed her to do it.”

Hermione knew he wasn’t angry with her, but she still felt a little uncomfortable. She didn’t know what to do for him, or if there was anything to be done at all. Severus came over to the table with two plates of eggs and toast. He sat down in front of her and started eating while turning the paper back in his direction. She sipped her tea while she watched him read. Severus’ anger had surprised her, not because it was without cause, but because it had been so long ago. Had he been carrying that around, with that level of anger, this entire time? 

Hermione looked down at her eggs and poked at them with her fork. If what they’d been through wa about exposing what happened that night, Severus could have done it all. He literally could have. Did she want to go back to being suspicious of him, though? Of course not, but he was certainly smart enough, sneaky enough, and maybe even self destructive enough. Then again, it was obvious he hated teaching. He didn’t seem at all bothered by being fired. Severus was a master of occlumency, and he’d proven his ability to play a part consistently for years on end. Hermione suddenly felt afraid to look him in the eye. 

It would just be completely insane to drag her into it to pay her back for saving him when he thought he wanted to die. There was always the possibility that he had wanted her from the beginning. With what happened in the bathroom, she couldn’t rule it out. He knew she was in there. The drawings could have been a way to get her to think of him outside of his role as her professor. Maybe he hadn’t planned on her actually wanting him but took advantage of it when she showed interest. Ginny did mention he looked guilty after they slept together.

There were too many things that made sense. Severus wanted to be with her regardless of what he had said to her. He wanted to be free from Hogwarts. He wanted to play the hero and take Braxton down. But taking the files didn’t make sense…unless he was going to plant them on someone. Oh My God! If he planted the files on Braxton, who certainly had motive to steal them, he could take Braxton down for all the harassment they have faced over the last six months even if the girl didn’t want to come forward with her side of the story. And that article incriminating Severus. Severus made himself look like the bad guy to make it look like Braxton was trying to set him up all while protecting the identity of the girl. He’d made it look like Braxton was framing him. Fucking genius! 

Hermione’s heart pounded in her chest. What was she going to do? Should she ask him about? Was that a good idea? Before she could decide, he stood and carried his empty plate to the sink. 

“I’ll be in the basement for a little bit. I have a potion that needs to be cooled and bottled up,” he told her as he walked to the door and out of the kitchen. 

Hermione sat there staring at her half eaten eggs trying to figure out what she was going to do. Was it wrong if part of her just wanted to let him get away with it all? Aside from sleeping with her professor, her life hadn’t really suffered that much for it all. No one had mentioned it to her in weeks now. It was all just sort of over. But she had to ask him. There was no other choice. Hermione pushed her chair back in and made her way through the kitchen to the basement door. It was already ajar, so she pushed it open enough for her to get through. The basement was somewhat dark, and the stairs creaked under her feet as she descended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget we still have three more chapters. You're going to learn a LOT in the next one. :) It's going to be an emotional one, so be prepared.


	22. Christmas In Godric's Hollow

Severus was bottling up the potion he had just finished when he heard the stairs creak behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Hermione’s feet taking slow, gentle steps down the wooden planks. “Welcome to my dungeon,” he said jokingly. 

Once on the landing, Hermione asked, “Can we talk for a minute?”

Gods, he hoped this wasn’t about what he’d said last night. He wiped his hands on a towel as she came over and dragged a stool to where he was working to sit next to him. “What would you like to discuss?” he asked as he pulled a label out of one of the drawers. 

Hermione sat on the stool wringing her hands in her lap. She was nervous, and it was making him nervous. Suddenly fearing she was about to tell him she was pregnant, he turned to her and started to ask, “Are you-”

“Did you do all of this to take Braxton down?” she asked him. “I’m not angry. I just need to know.”

Severus stared at her blankly before letting out a big puff of air. What a relief! Although he wasn’t sure if he was offended or flattered that she thought he could and would pull off such a grandiose scheme. She looked as though she had decided his guilt already: she looked prepared for him to confess. He looked down and grabbed the bottle of ink from the drawer and set it on the counter. As he picked up his quill, he told her, “I’ve spent nearly half of my life consumed by anger and fixated on revenge. That’s not a place I ever want to go back to. Setting Braxton up never crossed my mind.” Severus dipped the quill in the ink. “I suppose it’s too bad I didn’t because then I’d have those damn documents. Sorry to disappoint you…” he said lacking all conviction. 

Hermione tried to apologize, “I’m sor-”

“It’s fine,” he said. “I can understand why you may have thought that. You did spend your youth trying to uncover conspiracies,” he laughed as he finished writing the label. “I need to send this out,” he told her.

“Cutting it a little close. Aren’t you?” she asked him.

Severus frowned at her. “What do you mean by that?”

“The full moon is tomorrow. What if the owl gets lost or injured?” she questioned. 

“The full moon is on the 28th,” he informed her shaking his head in disagreement.

Hermione looked confused. “Are you sure? I thought it was the 26th.”

“Yes,” he said adamantly. “I’m sure. The full moon was on the 26th last month. This month it’s on the 28th.”

“But,” Hermione began to argue. “When I went to see Professor Brown while he was packing for winter holiday, he had one of those,” she pointed to the potion in front of him, “with instructions to take it on the 26th. I assumed it was this month’s potion.” Her eye brows pinched together in confusion.

“What?” he asked turning to fully face her. “He had one just like this? In MY handwriting?”

“Yeah,” she said affirmatively. Severus couldn’t understand how that was possible. If brown had hired someone else, he would have said so. It’s too expensive to pay two people to brew it. “Does that mean Lavender didn’t take the potion last month?”

Severus looked up at her sharply. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. His weight fell into the counter, his hip touching the top of it. “Before school started…he blamed me for the attack on the school. Maybe he blames me for what happened to her.”

“I remember that article!” Hermione agreed. “You think he’s the one who’s done all of this? You think he’s done this out of revenge for what happened to Lavender?” she asked. 

After thinking back on how he accused Lucius, even though Cissy wasn’t dead, he realized there are other ways to lose someone that can also be devastating. “Yes. I do,” he told her. “It’s him. I’m sure of it. He’s either found another person to brew the wolfsbane or…perhaps he’s capable himself. Hiring me must have been a way to keep the suspicion off of him.”

“But I thought you said it would be stupid for him to risk you telling everyone about her,” she argued.

“Yes. It is stupid, but no one ever plans on being caught. Not only that, he may have wanted me to feel guilty or… responsible, which I couldn’t if I didn’t know what happened to her,” he stated. “By paying me to brew it, he made sure I thought about her several times a month. This potion is quite a burden to brew.”

Hermione stood up and declared, “We’re going to go see him.” 

Severus’ eyes went wide. “Are you mad?” When she looked at him with a puzzled expression he explained, “One: we cannot go together.” He held up two fingers and said, “And two: he could be dangerous. There’s no need to go breaking down his door. There are other ways.”

“I want to know what’s going on. We don’t have to confront him. We can just spy on him a little. It’s only fair. He’s done it to us!” she nearly shouted. 

“I don’t even know where he lives,” Severus stated.

Hermione put her hand on her hip and asked, “Well, where were you going to send the potion?” 

Severus answered, “Ms. Brown’s residence. Where else?”

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, which he did not appreciate. “People typically spend the holiday with their families. He’s most likely going over there today. Besides, you could just say you wanted to deliver the potion yourself to wish them a happy holiday.” She looked way too please with herself. 

“Right,” he said, suddenly feeling uncomfortable that she knew he spent his time alone. “We are not going to confront him?! Neither of us. Alone or together. If I take the potion to them, you’re going to stay hidden.” He waited for her to agree.

“Fine.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione stood arm and arm with Severus in a back alley. Snow covered the ground, but the air was still and quiet. She let go of his arm and followed after him through the alley to the street. “Are we in Godric’s Hollow?” she asked as she realized they were surrounded by houses that reminded her of Harry and Nagini. She shuddered at the memory. 

“Yes,” he replied. “It should be house number 412.”

“It’s still early. He’s probably not there yet. I didn’t think about that. It might be hours before he shows up.” Hermione stopped when Severus held his hand out if front of her. 

“There. 412,” he announced as he pointed to a house across the street two houses down. “Not a very good house to watch. There’s no place we can hide that’s close enough to see in any of the windows,” he remarked. 

Hermione looked down the street and proposed, “We can hide in those bushes.”

“They are in someone’s front yard, in case you hadn’t noticed,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but there are no lights on in the house. They’re probably out of town. Look. Their walkway hasn’t even been shoveled recently. Come on,” she said as she took off at a brisk pace down the street.

Walking by the Brown’s house, Hermione noted that the living room light was on, but she couldn’t make out anything through the sheer curtains because it was too light outside. Once in the bushes, she crouched down and transfigured a small bench. 

“Why do I get the feeling you’ve done this a lot?” Severus asked as he caught up and eyed the bench.

“Oh, hush,” she said. “You’re one to talk, Mr. Spy of the century.” 

“We’re not going to see anything from here,” he noted.

“But at least we’ll know when he gets here. You wouldn’t want to deliver the potion before then and miss your chance to trip him up,” she said. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Severus sat and waited quietly with her for what had to be almost two hours. “Can we go home yet? I’d like tea. And maybe a biscuit. My ass completely numb,” he whined. 

Hermione huffed. “Fine.” 

As she stood up, he grabbed her arm to get her attention. “Look!” he said. Hermione turned back to the house. Darvin Brown was leaving the house. “He was already there. That’s why we’ve been sitting here so long.” Severus watched the man pull his hood over his head and start walking down the street. “Looks like we’ve missed our chance.”

“I don’t think so,” she said as she quietly crept out of the bushes. 

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled something about having an insane girlfriend before he took off after her. Darvin was nearly a block a head of them by the time he caught up to her. After rounding the corner, they just barely caught sight of him making a left up ahead. Knowing there was a bit of a clearing that way before the shops up the street, they waited just on the other side of the corner to make sure they wouldn’t be seen. 

Peeking around the last house, Severus’ heart stopped. “Hermione, he’s going into St. Jerome’s.” 

“The graveyard?” she questioned. 

“The graveyard,” he confirmed looking back at her. She looked as if she’d come to the same conclusion he had. Had he somehow fucked up the potion? The thought made him ill. 

Hermione nodded sadly. “There’s only one way to find out for sure,” she said as she walked past him and around the corner. 

“Seriously insane,” he murmured. “Brown…in the graveyard…on Christmas…with the revolver,” he said to himself as he wondered how exactly his life had come to this point. He was stalking a (former) coworker with Hermione Granger for Merlin’s sake! When he finally caught up to her, she was peering around a tree at Darvin. He was kneeling in front of a headstone and appeared to be distraught. 

When Hermione moved to come out from behind the tree he grabbed her, “NO. Are you suicidal or something? He’s dangerous,” he reminded her. 

“Look at him. He’s crying. I don’t care,” she said pushing his hand off her arm. “It’s not about me. Remember? I have a plan. Just stay here,” she told him.  
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. He did not want to get into a duel in a graveyard on Christmas day. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione approached Professor Brown from the side, as she didn’t want to frighten him. About ten feet away from him, the snow crunched under her feet, and he finally looked in her direction. 

Once he recognized her, he cleared his throat and stood up wiping his eyes. “Miss Granger. What brings you here? And on Christmas no less?” he asked with a look of empathy.

“I came to pay my respects to the Potters,” she told him. “Harry’s supposed to meet me. I’m a little early,” she shrugged. Hermione looked down at the headstone as she approached it. “I had no idea,” she told him. “I can’t believe…,” the headstone read the day of death as 8/26/98. Just a few days before school started. 

He nodded. “Her mother wanted to keep it quiet. There was no announcement in the paper. She was attacked. She put up a good fight being a Gryffindor and all, but...” 

“I didn’t know. I thought she was okay.”

“I know. It was a quiet ceremony. The family wanted privacy. I trust you won’t say anything,” he said looking at her a little worried. 

Hermione shook her head. “Of course not.” Hermione didn’t know what to say. “I’m so sorry. I wish we had known. We could have been there for her.” 

He laughed lightly at her. “I think I remember her saying she didn’t care much for you,” he said glancing over at her. He laughed again. “It’s alright. I know when two girls aren’t getting alone, it almost always about a boy.”

“Yes, well. As it turns out, we were both too good for him,” she replied bitterly.

“That’s usually the way it goes,” he offered her another small smile. “Life can be really unfair to a teenage girl.” He cleared his throat again. “I’m sorry for all that’s happened to you this semester.” He looked genuinely remorseful, which surprised her. “You haven’t done anything to deserve it.”

An uncomfortable silence settled over them, and Hermione began to feel uneasy. His eyes were watery again, and he looked lost in his thoughts. “You must have been close with her,” she deduced. 

“She was like a daughter to me. Her father, my brother, passed away when she was only five. She always insisted we celebrate Father’s Day together. She had it rough at times, but she always put on a brave face for her mum,” he nodded recalling her spirit. “I know she wasn’t really ever mine, but losing a child isn’t like losing anyone else. It’s different. We have a responsibility to protect then. When we fail to protect them, to do our job…It’s enough to make a person crazy just thinking about it. You think it helps when someone has to pay for it, but it doesn’t bring them back,” he admitted.

“He’s dead? The person who attacked her?” she asked already knowing the answer. 

He hesitated before saying, “Yes.” Professor Brown wiped his eyes again before announcing, “I should be going. Happy Christmas, Miss Granger.”

“You too, Sir,” she said sadly as he walked away from her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we still have two more chapters to go.


	23. Absolution

Hermione made her way back to the tree Severus was hiding behind as Professor Brown left St. Jerome’s. “Let’s go back to your house,” she said quietly as she approached him. 

“Okay,” he said holding out his hand to her. 

After apparating back to Spinner’s End, Hermione explained to him what she learned during her conversation with Professor Brown. “Before school started,” Severus repeated as he stood from the couch. “I just…I can’t imagine I made a mistake brewing the potion. What do you think we should do?” he asked her as he ran a hand through his hair.

“What if he didn’t do it? We don’t have a solid reason to suspect him, and we can’t accuse him just because he’s grieving. He said the family was trying to keep it quiet. Maybe that’s why he didn’t tell you she died,” Hermione reasoned. She stood up and walked with him to the kitchen where she took a seat at the table. 

“He did it, Hermione. I know he did,” said Severus as he sat in the chair opposite her.

“Well, that’s not good enough for me,” she stated. “I’m going to ask Harry if he can get us any information from when he worked at the Ministry. We shouldn’t do anything at all until we find out more.” Severus reluctantly agreed. Even though he knew Brown was guilty, they didn’t have enough evidence to support their claim if they were to go to the Ministry with it. “I’m going to send Harry an owl, and I’ll let you know as soon as I learn anything,” she said.

Severus prepared dinner a few hours later, and they eat in companionable silence. The morning’s events had drained them rather than relived them. If he was right, and Darvin was responsible, catching him wasn’t as satisfying as it should have been. Hermione was right. They still had too many unanswered questions. Severus suggested while Hermione was putting on her coat and scarf to head home, “You could stop by if you want. When you hear back from Potter, I mean.” Hermione smiled at him and agreed before kissing him goodbye. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione sat down in the kitchen at Grimmauld place two days later. She wasn’t sure if Harry had found anything. If Brown had a history of harassment or anything else suspicious, she would agree to take action against him, but it seemed unlikely.

Harry sat at the end of the table with a sandwich and the Daily Prophet. “I didn’t find any reports regarding his conduct or any sort of corrective action. Actually, he’s earned several awards. He seems to have been the perfect employee,” Harry said. 

“So we’re back to square one, then?” she stated dejectedly. 

“Not exactly,” he told her. “I found out that he worked in the investigations department. He wasn’t an Auror, though. He had an office job, which is likely why we’ve never heard of him or read about him in the paper before. His job was to analyze evidence and advise the Aurors what to look for and where.”

“Really? He did say he had a behind the scenes kind of job where he didn’t get to see immediate results from his efforts,” she remembered. “So when it comes to evidence, he’d probably know how to cover his tracks and make sure nothing led back to him.”

“Wait. It gets even more interesting,” he said with a boyish grin. “He was also the sketch artist the department used.”

Well, if that wasn’t damning information, she wasn’t sure what would be. “I can’t believe he did this.” 

Harry looked shocked at her admission. “It’s far from the worst thing a teacher’s done at Hogwarts. Don’t you remember Quirrell? Barty Crouch? Umbridge! Then Snape killed Dumbledore. I mean, it was planned and all, but still...”

Hermione laughed at him. “I suppose you’re right. Thank you for looking into it for me, Harry.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione returned to Spinner’s End and made herself comfortable at the table with a cup of tea while she shared what Harry told her. Severus didn’t seem surprised in the least. Once again, he asked her what she wanted to do about Brown. “I-“ she started but stopped short of answering him. 

He asked, “What?”

Hermione reluctantly admitted, “I don’t think he’s a horrible person, in spite of what he’s done to us. When I went to him for help, he actually seemed willing to help me. He said he even asked McGonagall to look for another copy of those documents. Maybe he even felt guilty about destroying them.”

Severus sat there quietly while he processed what Hermione said. After a while, he stated, “I want to go see him. By myself.” 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Severus stood outside of Darvin Brown’s house in Godric’s Hollow the next morning. The man answered the door wearing flannel pants and a red bathrobe.

“Severus, what brings you by,” he asked sounding concerned. “Is something wrong?”

“Might we discuss this inside?” Severus asked.

Darvin stepped back. “Of course.” 

Severus walked into the living room and stood near the couch. The room was small but not cramped, and a fire heated the room almost too much. A faint smell of cinnamon lingered in the air, most likely from the festive pinecones on the coffee table. He sat down on the end of the couch furthest from the fire.

“Would you care for tea?” Darvin offered. 

“That would be fine,” Severus said. When Darvin came back in the room with a trey of tea, he set it on the coffee table and poured two cups. “Thank you.” Severus put two cubes of sugar in his cup and stirred as he said, “I know Lavender is gone, Darvin.”

Darvin stopped pouring the cream in his tea and looked at Severus with a surprised expression that quickly faded. “Miss Granger told you?” he asked, but it was more of a statement.

“Yes. We’ve been working together to figure out who has been making a mess of our lives,” Severus confessed. 

“Smart,” he replied while he added another dash of cream to his tea. “A bit risky, though. If the two of you were seen associating with one another outside of class, it could have made it worse for you.” Darvin stirred his tea and set the wet spook on the saucer. “How was your holiday?” he asked changing the subject. 

“We know you’re responsible for all of it, Darvin. Tell me what happened.” Severus said. Darvin didn’t look as panicked as Severus may have expected. “Was there something wrong with the potion?” 

Darvin stifled a laugh and shook his head. “No. There was nothing wrong with the potion. Lavender…she didn’t want to live with her affliction. She committed suicide just before school started,” he explained his expression now pained. 

“I’m sorry,” Severus offered. An uncomfortable silence lingered between them. “You blame me,” Severus stated. “You think I didn’t do enough to protect the school and the students.”

Darvin hummed in response as he set his cup on the coffee table. “Yes. I blamed you.”

“But now you don’t?” Severus asked feeling slightly confused. Darvin’s demeanor was really throwing him for a loop, not that he would rather have a duel in the man’s living room. 

“Not so much anymore. I,” he hesitated and looked away from Severus, “At first, I only intended to give you hell for her being bitten. I blamed you for failing to protect her and keep those monsters out of the school and for failing to teach her how to protect herself. But when she died, I had to blame someone. I couldn’t blame her. She was gone,” he explained.

Severus sat and listened. He didn’t want to interrupt. He feared if he did, he’d never get the answers he wanted. 

“I was more responsible for what happened to her than you were,” he admitted, the statement clearly painful. “I think, perhaps I saw a little of myself in you. I failed to protect her, to teach her. It was easier to blame you for those things than to blame myself. I should have gotten her help. I knew she was struggling to accept it all, but I failed her.” 

Darvin was struggling not to cry as he explained how everything came about. Severus wasn’t sure what to say to the man. He’d carried the weight of guilt over Lily’s death for years while simultaneously blaming others for it. Voldemort, Black, Trelawney, Potter. He knew what it felt like to be consumed with grief. 

“I’m sorry for what I’ve done to you. And for what I’ve done to Miss Granger. She didn’t have anything to do with it. I was so hell bent on making you pay, I didn’t stop to think about what I was doing to her,” he said. “She’s just a girl. Innocent like Lavender.” Darvin shook his head. “When I found those records of what happened between you and that boy, I had to face the fact that you weren’t the horrible person I wanted to believe you were. It made me even more furious. After you left the school, I was content for a short while, but the sadness and pain all came back. The loss was still there, and I felt horrible about what I did to you two. Lavender would have been disgusted with me.”

Severus nodded. “What did you do with the original documents?” he asked.

“Miss Granger actually came to me and told me the story of what happened that night. I already knew, of course. I sent her to look for them in the library while I searched elsewhere for a copy that wouldn’t incriminate me,” he laughed. “Minerva even asked Dumbledore’s portrait if there was another copy. Bastard just denied it all.”

“Sounds like him. That was the only documented account of what happened. I had kept the records for Miss Harris in case she ever wanted to press charges against Braxton,” he explained. 

Nodding, Darvin responded, “I knew what I had, even though I didn’t know I had the only copy. I analyzed evidence for almost twenty years. I knew it was in my best interest to destroy them, but I couldn’t do it. I knew what they could mean for Miss Harris. I knew it was still within her legal right to take action against him.”

“I suppose you were right,” Severus said picking up his tea. “Maybe we are somewhat alike.” He took a long sip and set his cup down while trying to predict how Hermione would feel about what he was considering. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hermione got off the Hogwarts Express with Ginny, and they made their way toward the carriages. 

“Heads up!” shouted a boy behind them. 

Hermione just barely ducked out of the way of a flying pigmy puff. Once she’d righted herself, she rolled her eyes and continued on her way to the Great Hall. The noise grew as she entered the entrance hall. Stories of Christmas and travel were being shared among pairs of students. Hermione poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice while she waited for the food to be served. She was starving. Knowing she was going to be spoiled with the welcoming feast, she had skipped lunch that afternoon. 

Professor McGonagall drew everyone’s attention up to the front of the room. “I would like to welcome you all back from winter break. I hope all of you had wonderful holidays. Sadly, I have to announce that Professor Brown won’t be returning this term for personal reasons. Next week Mrs. Georgina Lewis will be joining the staff as our new defense against the dark arts teacher. I expect you all to welcome her with displaying your best behavior and your best efforts to give her a smooth transition into the school. Until she arrives, the rest of the staff will be filing in, and your class schedule will proceed as usual,” McGonagall told them from the platform of the head table. “Once again, welcome back, and enjoy the feast.”

“What do you suppose happened to Professor Brown?” Ginny asked. 

Hermione responded, “I don’t know. It’s a shame, though. He was a pretty good teacher.”

~~~~~~~~~~ 

Two weeks into term, Ginny came banging on her door while she was trying to get ready for school. Hermione had slept in that morning because she had stayed up late trying to get ahead in transfiguration the night before. Still brushing her teeth, Hermione was a bit perturbed as she opened the door. “Wa?” she asked with a mouthful of toothpaste. 

“More have come forward!” she said enthusiastically. “Look.” Ginny held the paper up for Hermione to read the headline.

A Predator Exposed: By Rita Skeeter

“Han-on,” she mumbled as she walked back to the bathroom to spit out the toothpaste. Hermione dried her hands quickly before returning to her room to take the paper from Ginny. She read:

A Predator Exposed: By Rita Skeeter

As promised, I’m happy to share with you the latest development in the Harris v. Braxton case. Since Sandra Harris turned over documents detailing her attack last week, three women have come forward with similar stories of abuse by Jared Braxton. Jane Edwards, 26, Athena Collins, 29, and Barbara Stewart, 29, have described, in detail, their assaults by Mr. Braxton while they were Hogwarts students. While Collins and Stewart are past the statute of limitation, Edwards is not. The Ministry has decided to take on her case separately from Harris’. Braxton’s attorneys pushed for the cases to be tried together. It’s likely they wanted them combined because it will be harder for Mr. Braxton to win two cases against him than just one. 

An inside source leaked information about four other potential cases of abuse in which the victims have not yet come forward. The Ministry will be investigating further to determine if they have just cause to open any more cases against Braxton. The suspected victims range from fifteen to twenty six years of age with the latest possible case of assault being only two short years ago. 

Severus Snape declined to comment on his role in uncovering Braxton’s extensive history of abusing young girls. It’s safe to say that, although he was guilty of assaulting Braxton, the incident fifteen years ago will bring about the removal of a predator from our community. It is our understanding, based on the contents of the documents Snape signed that night, that he was the one who insisted evidence of Braxton’s crime remain available to Harris for future use. 

Once again, I will be the first to share with you any new developments in these cases. I strongly encourage anyone who feels they have been victimized by Braxton to come forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any questions you may have should be answered in the last chapter.


	24. Rita Skeeter's Scoop

July 16, 1999

“How long can they give him if he’s convicted?” Ginny asked while glancing over her shoulder to make sure Hermione was still with them.

Harry answered, “Six years. That’s what the article in the paper said, anyway.” He held her hand as they walked through the crowd to the tall building camouflaged between two skyscrapers. 

Hermione walked behind them into the Ministry of Magic, her stomach in knots. It was a nerve wracking day for everyone. Following Harry and Ginny to the tenth floor, she worried about how Severus was feeling. Climbing the stairs among the many people who had shown up to sit in on the trial, she was surprised to see how invested the public had become with the case; the upper level was nearly packed already. Perhaps she should have expected the turnout. The Harris v. Braxton case was currently the only interesting thing being covered by the papers. 

Going straight to the railing, she peered down to find Severus in the witness section. He was sitting alone, but the Malfoys were seated directly behind him with their son, Draco. Apparently, Mrs. Malfoy had decided she wanted to stay a Malfoy, Merlin only knows why, she thought. 

“It’s supposed to start in about five minutes,” she heard Harry comment. “Look. That must be Braxton.” 

Hermione looked down at the man who had just come through the door on the right side of the room. He had an attractive younger woman hanging on his arm; it must have been his wife. For some reason, she was disappointed that he didn’t look like the monster she knew he was. Braxton was tall with an athletic build, his hair dirty blonde, his eyes bright blue. At least they seemed to be from where she stood. Watching him sit with his wife made her want to throw something at the pair of them. Even if the woman hadn’t known he was a monster before she married him, how could she sit by him now? 

Harry led the girls up three rows on the right side where there were still a few open seats next to each other. As Hermione sat there, she became increasingly frustrated by the loving display Mrs. Braxton was gifting the crowd with. She was putting on a show for sure. Braxton had probably put her up to it. Standing up abruptly, Hermione said, “Excuse me,” to Harry as she moved in front of him to get to the aisle, bumping into his knees along the way. 

“Where are you going?” he asked. “The trial is about to start.” 

Shuffling past Ginny, she responded, “I know. I’ll meet you at the front entrance when it’s over.” Without any further explanation, Hermione hurried down the stairs and rushed through the door to the lower level, only to be stopped by the courtroom usher. Desperate, Hermione told him the first lie she could think of that would get her though into the seating area. Once past the squat, pug-faced man, Hermione walked quickly down the aisle and slinked into the open seat next to Severus.

He looked at her surprised. “What are you doing here, Miss Granger?” he asked, his eyes darting to the side to see if anyone was watching. 

“I didn’t want you to be alone,” she answered a little breathlessly as she straightened her coat. 

“You do realize what people are going to think?” he inquired. 

Hermione smiled at him and took his hand in hers. “I don’t care,” she told him before she kissed the back of his hand and brought it down into her lap. Ignoring the whispers behind and above them, he gave her a small smile and turned his attention to Minister Shacklebolt as he walked in.

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Nearly five hours later, Hermione found herself waiting outside of the courtroom with Severus for Harry and Ginny. “Excuse me for a minute,” Severus told her as he let go of her hand. 

Hermione stood there waiting and watching. He had darted toward one of the doors to stop Darvin Brown for a moment. After exchanging a few words, the two of them shook hands, and Darvin disappeared through the door. Severus returned before Harry and Ginny were able to get through the crowd coming down from the upper level. “What did you say to him?” she asked. 

“I just thanked him,” he said simply. 

“Hermione?” Ginny asked as she approached them, her question implied. Hermione wasn’t paying any attention to her at all, though. She was staring at Severus with her mouth slightly open.

Harry, with an amused grin, looked from Snape to Hermione and commented, “I’m starting to think you guys like being in the paper.” Severus gave him one of his most intimidating glares, which caused Harry to throw his hands up. “Sorry. Bad joke,” he said as he grabbed Ginny by the arm. “We’ll see you later, Hermione,” he said as he tugged Ginny to get her to move toward the door. 

“I suppose I should have thanked him for you as well,” Severus told her as he turned his attention back to her and took her hand.

Hermione smiled at him. “I love you, Severus,” she said as if she’d said it a thousand times before. She squeaked as he pulled her close and kissed her in the middle of the hoard of people still trying to disperse. 

~~~~~~~~~ 

Family Man Convicted, Gets Full Sentence: By Rita Skeeter

Yesterday afternoon, the Wizengamot ruled in favor of Sandra Harris in her case against Jared Braxton, father of three. Braxton was sentenced to six years in Azkaban for his crime committed against Harris over a decade ago. Braxton will be brought back to the Wizengamot on August 26th to be tried for the crime of rape against Jane Edwards. With four other cases against him pending, Braxton isn’t likely to be out of the spotlight for a while. 

A guilty verdict wasn’t the only thing that occurred in the courtroom yesterday. It appears that Mr. and Mrs. Lucius Malfoy have reconciled and will not be dividing their assets. Their 753,000 Galleon mansion will be taken off the market later today.  
A courtroom usher reported that Hermione Granger told him of her engagement to Severus Snape while attempting to take a seat with her fiancé at the trial. Granger was seen holding Snape’s hand. Afterwards, the two shared a heated lip lock in the middle of the entrance hall to the courtroom. Apparently, they are no longer denying their relationship. 

Unfortunately, it turns out that the source that came forward regarding Hermione Granger and her affair with Severus Snape several months ago is mentally unstable. The incident we were told of months ago about Granger being seen leaving the bathroom with Snape was fabricated to destroy Granger’s reputation. Knowing now that the two were not in a relationship at the time, we are left to conclude that this whole fiasco is what brought the two together. It turns out that Severus Snape is quite lucky to have snagged war heroine Hermione Granger. 

The End

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

This is Darvin Brown’s side of the story to clear up any questions that Severus and Hermione didn’t get answers to:

Darvin hired Snape to brew wolfsbane simply because Snape is the best. Snape assumed it was Mr. Brown, Lavender’s father, who hired him via owl. Severus thought he was sending the potion to Lavender’s house not Darvin’s. 

Darvin blamed Snape for Lavender being bitten, so he left the ministry to come to Hogwarts to make Snape’s life miserable but not destroy it. That’s why Darvin gave Skeeter an interview where he slammed Snape for not protecting the school. The interview was conducted the week before school started, but Skeeter didn’t publish it until the day before term. Between the interview and school starting, Lavender committed suicide. At that point, Darvin was devastated and became hell bent of making Snape pay for it. Lavender’s suicide left behind a lot of guilt that Darvin could not face. Darvin felt like he failed her, but because it was too painful to deal with, he put it all on Snape.

He saw them leave the bathroom, and he recalled the articles in the paper about Hermione a few years back because lavender went on and on about it. He chalked it up to teenage theatrics and thought nothing bad about Hermione. She was just a kid, and he didn’t even know her. He knew Skeeter would jump at the chance to write another article about her and her next “famous wizard” who happened to be her teacher. Darvin used an alias to communicate with Skeeter. She figured he’d given her a fake name, but she didn’t care as long as she was getting stories. Skeeter sought out Ron for the interview, and then re-quoted Pansy saying Hermione was good with love potions. Darvin made all the flyers and distributed them around the school. He agreed to give Skeeter any new information he learned in exchange for copies of the articles before they were released. 

Because he was trying to destroy Snape, Darvin changed tactics and played the nice guy, being cordial and bringing him wine with Flitwick. He threw Skeeter under the bus and knew no one would doubt her twisting something he said in that interview. Darvin went snooping, looking for anything he could use and that’s how he came across Snape’s employment records. He took the documents, forged a copy of the boy’s statement without any mention of the girl and put it back. 

He didn’t want to risk being the one to take Snape’s whole file, so he paid Skeeter 500 galleons to get someone else to steal it. Darvin suggested Skeeter hire Smith because he saw him spreading the fliers around just to be a jerk. Smith stole the files and look through them, curious why she wanted them. That’s how he squeezed more money out of her. He didn’t know that he was only getting 100 of the 500 galleons Darvin paid Skeeter. 

Skeeter didn’t know what was in Snape’s records until she actually looked through them herself. Darvin told Skeeter the reason he wanted her to dig though them was because he was becoming more suspicious of Snape and Granger’s relationship, suggesting they may have been having this affair for a few years. He told Skeeter to steal Hermione’s too in case there was anything at all about Snape in it. That was just a diversion, so Skeeter wouldn’t catch on to him playing her. He told Skeeter they had a duty to protect the students, and played it off as them being the “good guys” in the situation. Skeeter found, wrote about, and handed the forged account of the incident between Snape and the boy to the Minister without removing or altering anything. 

Darvin didn’t know he had the only copy of the documents, but the whole thing REALLY bothered him, regardless of how much he hated Snape and wanted him to pay for Lavender’s death. Darvin led a life of being a good guy, loyal, protective, caring, smart, brave (many things Severus is). He HATED that the boy got away with it. That’s the only reason he didn’t destroy the documents. He debated it for a few weeks knowing he had incriminating evidence against himself. When Hermione came to him asking for help looking for another copy, he was hoping she would find one just as much as she was hoping he would. That’s why he went as far as asking Minerva to help. Severus took November’s potion to Darvin before class. Darvin didn’t want anyone to see, so he threw it in his desk. He then forgot about it because he wasn’t really giving them to her. That was the potion Hermione saw.

After the fact, Darvin felt horrible about dragging Hermione into it all because he does have a conscience. She was just an innocent girl like lavender, but he couldn’t see that until it was too late. Within two weeks of Severus being gone from the school, he started feeling remorse because he was still hurting, and ruining Severus’ life didn’t make it better. It didn’t bring lavender back, and that’s always the problem with revenge; it doesn’t change the past (unless you have a time turner).

Skeeter and Darvin’s time as Hogwarts students overlapped, but they did not associate with one another. Malfoy estate was listed for approx. 5 million US dollars.

Severus agreed to let Darvin get away with everything under a few conditions.  
1\. Darvin give him the files. (Snape then took them to Harris.)  
2\. Darvin resign from teaching. (Poor Minerva was down another teacher.)  
3\. Get Skeeter to clear Hermione’s name. (When Skeeter refused, Darvin threatened to confess to paying her to steal the files and take her down with him.)

Darvin went to muggle grief counseling after leaving Hogwarts and attended survivors of suicide support groups. He showed up at the trial in support of Snape and Harris. It was the only silver lining to his niece’s death, and he wasn’t going to miss it.


End file.
